Sky's Alight, Heaven's on Fire
by King Who Stands Alone
Summary: In hindsight, Minato should have known this mission would be a pain in the ass. How could it not be when the flock of Fallen Angels he was assigned to oversee couldn't follow basic instructions? But at least his days were no longer fraught with boredom now. And all it took was a little alliance with the local Devils. Azazel had better be paying him extra for all of this.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm booooored!"

"Do you _ever_ shut the fuck up?!"

"I will when we actually have something to do! When's the last time we did goddamn _anything?_ Sitting around in this dusty, broken down wreck of a Church is depressing," Minato replied petulantly from his position of laying down on one of the pews in the front row. His hands were behind his head, preventing it from making contact with the hard, unforgiving wood. He may have cleaned the place up a bit since their arrival but that didn't mean he wanted to dirty his pristine mop of white hair. It was bad enough that the dust had smudged his favorite black and white t-shirt. "Why the hell couldn't we get a better base of operations than this dump?"

"In case you've forgotten, _dipshit_ , we're here on a _secret_ assignment," Mittelt fired back with anger in her voice. He rolled over onto his side to look at the blonde in all of her gothic lolita fashioned glory. She was seated upon the altar that blocked off the secret entrance to one of the underground sanctuaries, legs crossed one over the other, likely so as to not allow him or anyone else a free viewing of her panties. "This is the only place we can go and be undetected. Be thankful we brought you along at all."

"Don't act like you did me some sort of favor, _Milly,_ " Minato mocked, earning himself a venomous glare from the blonde. "Azazel **ordered** you to bring me so I could rein you all in and prevent you idiots from doing anything stupid." He began to weep fake tears now. "I'm just a glorified watchdog now! I got stuck looking after the washouts and losers! The lowest of the low! What did I do to deserve such a horrible fate?"

"Call me a loser again and I'll shove a spear through you, boy."

Minato, ceasing his melodramatic crocodile tears, sat up and turned his gaze upwards to the Church's rafters. Sat upon one of the wooden beams, in her typical attire of a maroon trench coat-like top (that was open to show off an absurd amount of cleavage) with a matching miniskirt, was a familiar brown-eyed woman with long blue hair. She stared back at him with fire in her eyes, clearly upset at having been insulted by someone she deemed a lower life form.

"That's kinky. Interested in some foreplay, Kala~? I should warn you that your luck in sticking me with your "spear" is about as likely as Azazel noticing your advances and fucking your brains out," he stated cheerfully, using a shortened version of her name to irk her further. "Zero, zilch, nada, nothing, absolutely impossible~. You'd have better chances lowering your standards and dragging me to your bed instead. I'll even put on a wig so you can pretend it's him, and I promise to not mind if you scream his name instead of mine."

"Fuck you!"

"Now you're getting it! Just ask and I can make sure you really _get it_ ," the boy mocked, moving his eyebrows up and down as he tossed in an innuendo to rile up the older women. The look of utter disgust that crossed her face only made him laugh harder. Kalawarner was such an uptight and arrogant priss, and the fact that she only had eyes for their leader only made him want to mess with her even more. It was a fun hobby to occupy his free time, and damn did he have a lot of that lately.

"The girl will be here in a matter of days. Just calm yourself, do your duty, and we'll be finished with this dead-end assignment."

Minato's eyes flickered to the doorway of one of the side rooms, where the third member of their little entourage finally joined them. A dark-haired older male in a pale gray trench coat and, Minato noted with a small snort, a fedora atop his head. He wondered if anyone told the old man that clothes like that only worked if you either had the right "look" or were in a black and white movie.

"A ' _matter of days'_ is just a nice way for you to say _'we don't know when she'll show up'_ , Donny-boy. Let's just radio back to base, tell 'em the 「Sekiryuutei」 ain't on the verge of awakening and ditch this run-down shithole Church. This surveillance mission was a bust. Hyoudou's no threat to us." He paused, eyes bouncing between Kalawarner and Mittelt. "Well, maybe a threat to you two but nothing a little mace and a restraining order can't fix."

"My **name** is Dohnaseek and you will address me as such," the man stated, an undertone of umbrage held within his voice before he calmed himself and returned to a neutral tone. "The 「Holy Maiden」 will arrive as scheduled and we are not leaving this town until then," he said with finality. "And the only reason you want to declare the 「Sekiryuutei」 as a non-threat to us is due to your utter lack of care towards the mission. Your only interest is completing it so you can return to your daily life of nothing," Dohnaseek finished with clear disapproval and distaste lacing his words.

He shrugged his shoulders without bothering to argue that point. Yeah, he was lazy. So what? They had no right to judge him when they were guilty of much worse than indolence. Falling from 「Heaven」 out of pride, out of wrath, out of lust, out of envy, those were all significantly greater sins than sloth. For beings that liked to pretend they were better than devils simply because they were fallen angels they sure were guilty of a lot of the same "crimes". Hell, even Azazel fell because of his lust but at least the man never carried himself like he was above anyone else simply because of his race.

"Doesn't interfere with my job and doesn't change my findings. If Azazel thinks he might be a problem then it'd be smarter of us to just recruit him. Wouldn't take much work." Minato looked back up to Kalawarner. "Think you could just flash him? I'm sure he'll follow along like a puppy dog if you let him get an eyeful of your titanic tits."

Before Kalawarner could respond, the boy dropped his gaze back down to Mittelt, who was watching his interactions with her comrades with clear amusement. Did she think she was suddenly exempt from his little jabs? "Don't think you'll be much help though. He's not into little girls and their mosquito bites." He gave a lopsided smile as the mirth on her face fell instantly and she became furious, jumping off the altar and stomping towards him.

Minato noticed the telltale signs of 「Holy Energy」 beginning to gather in her hand, the beginnings of a 「Spear of Light」, and readied himself if Mittelt decided to make a run at him. He'd tolerate jokes, insults, even a small level of insubordination, but the moment any of them made a serious attempt on his life would be the moment the person in question ceased to exist as anything other scorch marks on the ground.

"You might want to rethink whatever you plan on doing with that," he cautioned. He'd give her one chance, after that she'd be a fallen angel bonfire. And if Kalawarner and Dohnaseek decided to interfere, to try and gang up on him as well with the misguided belief that they had an advantage because of superior numbers? Simply more trash on the pyre.

"Azazel's given me the authority to punish any of you if it comes down to it. I won't hesitate to put you over my knee and give you a spanking, blondie." He noted that the light began to dissipate as Mittelt sputtered, her face taking on a glowing red hue. His smile widened and became downright predatory. "Oh~, is that what you want? Do you need your big, strong ' _onii-chan'_ to _discipline_ you until you learn how to be a good girl? Is that why you do your hair up in twintails? For convenient handlebars?"

Mittelt shrieked in fury before doing an about face, kicking over the altar and storming downstairs to the Church's sanctuary area. Minato smiled, both in amusement at the reaction and at the fact that the girl had the common sense to not push her luck by attacking him. It would have been such a shame if he had to report back to Azazel that he killed one of the crows he put him in charge of. The man would forgive him with little reproach, no doubt about that, but Shemhazai would lecture him something fierce. Then he'd probably tear into Azazel as well for being so lenient with him.

He leaned back and looked towards Kalawarner. "That offer extends to you as well. Though, with you, I suppose it would be a ' _onee-chan'_ being corrected by her younger brother? Would you be interested in something like that?"

The blue-haired woman didn't even deign to give him an answer, merely throwing one last look of loathing his way before flying higher to one of the rafters closer to the ceiling, likely in the hopes that he would stop speaking to her. Minato sighed. Two for two, what a shit record. One that probably wouldn't be getting better when Raynare finally got back from wherever she had left to.

' _Speaking of which, where the hell is she?'_

The leader, ' _She wishes'_ , of their little troupe had abruptly left the Church after stating she needed to take care of some business. What business that was, she refused to say. Not even clarifying whether it was something related to 「Grigori」 as a whole or about their mission, she simply walked out and hadn't returned in several hours and it was starting to bug him. They were here on a reconnaissance mission and if she jeopardized that for something stupid like personal matters then he'd use the authority Azazel gave him to put her through the wringer.

Faced with the choice between tracking her down, wherever she may be in the town, or sitting on his ass in the Church and doing nothing, it was really no choice at all. It would have been trivial to send Anne, his companion, to scour the city in his place but he doubted she'd react kindly to being summoned from his apartment and woken up for such a menial task. She'd still do it but then he'd have to deal with her endless griping about how she was not some lowly search dog and Minato really wasn't in the mood for a headache.

The white-haired young man rose to his feet, groaning in discomfort when he felt several of his joints pop back into place. Those wooden pews really were absolute crap for resting on. How people actually sat on them and listened to a preacher go on about the Bible and God, he would never understand. Would it have killed them to put cushions down? There wasn't anything in the Bible saying you had to suffer to worship God, at least nothing that he remembered.

"We were ordered to wait here."

Minato rolled his eyes. For being such a battle maniac, always ready to kill something at the drop of a hat, the male fallen angel was a complete and utter wet blanket when outside of a fight. The only times he found the man even somewhat bearable was during a battle. It was then that Dohnaseek let his true nature shine through, becoming a beast that lusted for the blood of his enemies. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, he still retained enough of his senses to know not to try and sate himself by engaging his comrades in 「Grigori」 in mortal combat as well. Such an act would have given Minato reason to execute him on the spot for treason.

"No, _you_ were ordered by Raynare to do whatever she says like the good little dogs you are," he said, earning a low growl from the man. It seemed the label of "dog" was apt here. " **I** don't have to listen to Raynare anymore than I have to listen to any of you. By all means, take it up with Azazel if it really bothers ya. I'm sure he'd _love_ to hear how we've been doing absolute fuck-all for several days now and that Raynare took off without telling anyone where she was going or what she'd be doing."

Dohnaseek said nothing, glaring in what Minato could only describe as pure hatred. He normally wasn't this antagonistic, at least not towards his allies, but he was fed up with the lack of anything exciting or interesting lately. All he had to look forward to anymore was, hilariously enough, going to school. The one thing most teenagers seemed to dread and yet it provided him social interaction with people his own age, something Azazel said he lacked, while simultaneously letting him keep an eye on Hyoudou Issei. Two birds with one stone.

Didn't hurt that all the girls there were hot. Azazel definitely hadn't been lying when he mentioned that tidbit.

Having nothing more to say to the man after calling his bluff, Minato turned on his heel and walked out of the Church, flinging open the doors with a push and stepping out into the orange glow of the setting sun. He'd either find Raynare or something to entertain himself with, a win-win scenario either way. Because, seriously, if he had to stay in that building for one more minute someone was going to end up badly hurt, and no 「Holy Maiden」 was going to be able to put them back together again when he was finished.

 _'Especially that sadistic, twisted little fuck by the name of Freed Sellzen.'_

He could not goddamn wait until that shithead slipped up for even one second. Minato didn't "hate" people – save for two specific devils that he would kill just to his get his hands on them both before delivering the two to Vali himself – he just held some of them in varying levels of distaste. However, he could safely say that Freed Sellzen was not a person in his eyes, more like a slug or particularly bothersome gnat, and therefore Minato could freely state that he hated the Stray Exorcist with every fiber of his being. He didn't give a damn that the bastard was tossed away from the Church after their little Sigurd recreation project ended, being a failure of a test tube baby wasn't some pass to be a raving psychopath. However, Azazel made him stay his hand, at least until Freed stepped out of line. If he ever did, Minato was given free reign to torch his sorry ass.

Freed's acceptance into the group, along with Valper Galilei, the 「Genocide Archbishop」, had resulted in a huge fight between himself and Azazel. The man argued that while both were clearly monstrous in their own ways it was better to keep them in 「Grigori」 where they could be watched, restrained, and effectively leashed rather than let them run wild throughout the world of their own accord. Minato's response was simply that Azazel would regret letting them in one day, that both monsters were cancers who would inevitably rot his organization from within and when that day finally arrived Minato would not be around to help him pick up the pieces.

They didn't speak for several days after that incident, only reconciling after Vali, of all people, played mediator between the two. It wasn't his proudest moment, both his argument with Azazel and requiring Vali's "help" in apologizing for going over the line, but he meant what he said. Freed and Valper, regardless of whether or not they were "leashed", only brought destruction, suffering, ruin, and death wherever they went. Why Azazel thought 「Grigori」 would be the exception was beyond his understanding.

Shaking his head to get rid of the bitter memories, Minato finally reached the end of the forestation surrounding the abandoned Church. With a small smile, he began his trek deeper into town. No time for thinking of arguments long since past, homicidal priests, or madmen disguised as archbishops. Now was the time for something fun to take his mind off the boring mission he was on.

* * *

Minato hadn't found anything fun on his little adventure in Kuoh Town. However, he did find Raynare! Even more spectacularly, he discovered a new emotion too! He didn't really have an exact name for it yet, but currently, he was going with "pure, overwhelming, incomprehensible, absolute fucking rage". Kind of a mouthful but it was a rather good summation of his feelings when he saw Raynare walking along Hyoudou Issei and, judging by their close proximity along with the fact they were holding hands, pieced together how she had spent her day and what her "business" was.

"You complete fucking moronic **bitch...** "

Plastering the most strained, most forced smile on his face, he glided over to the couple, who had yet to notice him. Good. If she saw him she'd probably try to drag Issei somewhere else, by force if necessary, just to try and escape his wrath. That wouldn't do. No, he needed her to stay put just for a little while. Issei… Issei could take a small walk for a few minutes, and if he was lucky he'd come back to his little pretend-girlfriend, assuming he was right about exactly what game Raynare was playing, being in one piece instead of several.

"Yo, Issei!"

The look of fear that crossed over Raynare's face when she heard his voice and finally saw him, it was priceless. So good it made him want to take out his phone and snap a picture of it, just to make sure the memory never faded. He wasn't a sadistic man by any means, and he definitely didn't get any kicks out of tormenting others, but he would make a special exception this one time. It was only fair, considering he had a feeling Raynare was about to do something incredibly hasty, stupid, and downright just fucking **dumb.**

And Issei, he was a cross between a deer caught in the headlights and smiling broadly, a weird combination to be sure but the kid made it work for him, Minato had to give him that. The two weren't particularly close, due to Minato being a second "Prince" at Kuoh Academy, but he was at least on better terms with the 「Perverted Trio」 than Kiba Yuuto, whose name Issei and his friends would curse under their breath for stealing all of the female attention.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Minato asked, pulling out his wallet. He hoped Issei would just do as he was told and go complete the pointless task he was asking of him. He didn't need the brown-haired boy getting caught in the crossfire, and he _especially_ didn't want to accidentally reveal the supernatural world to him. Issei was still a normal human, albeit an incredibly perverted one with dreams of creating a harem for himself, and Minato wished to keep it that way for as long as he could. The boy deserved something resembling a normal life, at least until he was forced to come to terms with his place in the world as one-half of the 「Heavenly Dragons」.

It was why he hadn't told Vali that he had found his "rival" in Kuoh. The great-grandson of Lucifer would likely drop everything if he knew where to find Ddraig's wielder and try to create a situation where Issei would feel the need to get stronger to fight against Vali in the future. A clash between the 「Hakuryuukou」 _,_ who had been trained by Azazel himself and had mastered his 「Sacred Gear」 to the point that he could remain within his 「Balance Breaker」 for a month straight, and the 「Sekiryuutei」, whose biggest struggle in life thus far was figuring out a new spot to peek at the girls on the Kendo Club while they were changing in the locker room.

Yeah, that wouldn't be much of a fair fight.

Plus he'd have to hear all the stupid _chuunibyou_ -esque lines Vali had written down in that notebook he thought nobody else knew about, and God bless Lavinia for showing it to him when she and the rest of 「Slash/Dog」 dropped by to assist 「Grigori」 with a Stray Magician problem. He didn't have time to listen to Vali talk about how it was "his destiny to clash with the 「Sekiryuutei」" or how he "wished to fight for all eternity". The guy had gone so far as to write out entire phrases and speeches for when he finally met the owner of the 「Boosted Gear」.

Vali Lucifer. Great-grandson of the original Lucifer. Wielder of 「Divine Dividing」, receiving the title of 「Hakuryuukou」, this era's 「Vanishing Dragon」. An existence that possessed a level of talent and power that could one day take him all the way to the top of the list of strongest beings in the world, even rivaling Gods. And a first-rate battle maniac, instant noodle-loving dork with eighth-grader syndrome, whom he also suspected had a, albeit small and relatively controlled, fetish for women's asses.

The world really was hilarious.

"I'm kinda in the middle of something here!" Issei exclaimed, visibly ticked off by Minato interrupting his date. That was fine, that worked just as well for his purpose. If he was in a bad mood then he was less likely to follow Raynare to somewhere secluded and isolated, which meant he'd be able to keep his body free of any holes caused by sudden impalement.

"Come on, man. Just one quick favor?" He pulled out a couple of bills and stuffed them in Issei's hand. "I need you to head into that convenience store," he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, "to grab me some snacks and some drinks. I'd do it myself but the guy behind the register and I have sort of a bad history. If I step foot in there again he promised to call the cops on me, and I'm trying to avoid having a record."

"I… That's..." Issei sighed, clearly not happy with the situation being thrust upon him but Minato doubted he would refuse. The boy, when not following his perverse urges, was eager to please others and always willing to help someone in need of a favor. Minato didn't know if it was a personality trait or he just wanted to, deep down, prove that he was more than _just_ a pervert, and at the moment he didn't particularly care either. He needed to have a little one-on-one, human-to-fallen angel chat with their violet-eyed "friend".

"Fine. Yuuma-chan," he said, turning to Raynare. Minato couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Yuuma? That was a new one. At least she had the sense to not use her real name. Not that it would have mattered, but "Raynare" was more likely to draw attention than "Yuuma". Points to her for that, if nothing else. "I'll be right back," Issei promised.

"Don't hit on her while I'm in there, you stupid 「Harbor Prince」," he muttered under his breath as he walked past him, just low enough that only Minato could hear, and he had to fight down the urge to laugh, both at his unofficial "title" and at what Issei had said. Him, hit on Raynare? Okay, granted, he had made a pass or two in the past but that was out of boredom rather than any actual attraction (other than physical) to the crow.

Her body was a knockout but her personality killed any interest he had in her. Like Kalawarner, but turned up to eleven, and with far more delusions of grandeur filling her head. Every word she spoke to him was either an insult, an order, or a provocation. Unfortunately for her, a dynamite body did not make up for being a complete and utter bitch.

"Um, are you a friend of Issei-kun's?"

Wasn't that just adorable? She was still playing the whole "innocent schoolgirl" routine! Why couldn't she just stay this way? Her disguise, while less mature in appearance than her actual body, more than made up for it in cuteness. With her short black dress and light purple jacket, she radiated an aura of innocence, something he knew for damn sure was one thing the fallen angel was lacking. If she was innocent then he was a goddamn Saint.

"Cut the bullshit. What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Minato asked, putting as much harshness as he could into his whisper. There were still civilians walking around and he didn't need them listening in. Raynare opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off before she could even get a word in. "No, don't speak. Don't even explain yourself. I'm talking now. Have you lost what little brains you have left? Or was I right in saying that you were born without a brain in your skull and that's why you have such huge tits? Is that where you store it?"

A snarl most unbecoming of Raynare's disguise appeared on her face as she whispered back at him. "Go to hell, you little pissant. If you had done your job properly then I wouldn't be here to begin with. The only person without brains here is _you_. Now, if you wouldn't mind leaving-"

"I did my job by keeping an eye on him, you stupid bitch! I told you that his 「Sacred Gear」 was still dormant and would likely remain that way. Unless, of course, he were to suffer a traumatic experience. Like, I don't know, being _murdered_ by a fallen angel?"

Raynare looked worried now, unnerved by the fact that her plot was slowly falling to pieces. She was lucky, oh so lucky, that they were in a public area. She should pray that when they saw each other at the base that he had cooled off and reined in his temper or they would surely come to blows.

"I-"

" **Shut. Up,"** he ordered, unconsciously causing the temperature in the area to begin to rise as his ruby red eyes flashed dangerously. His 「Sacred Gear」, though lacking in anything that could be categorized as a soul or consciousness, did have a will of its own, and that will was detecting his own desire to simply char the fallen angel and be done with it. He noted that he could see beads of sweat start to appear on Raynare's forehead.

Good.

Let her feel the **heat** for a little while.

Let her know just how close she was to being **burned alive.**

"You listen to me, and you listen well, Raynare. The boy dies, **you** die. This is not a negotiation, a suggestion, an agreement, a compromise, or a debate. This is a promise and an **order.** You want to play high school girl and _"ride the dragon"_ all night long? By all means, make the kid's day. But if I find out you went against our direct orders to **observe,** and **not** **assassinate** him, so help me God, I will burn you and your damn lapdogs to the ground."

"Azazel-sama won't-"

"What do you think will anger him more, _Ray-Ray?_ " he asked, leaning in close enough that he was almost whispering in her ear. "That I killed four little birdies because they didn't know to stay in their fucking nest and leave well enough alone or that you went against direct orders, not only mine but Azazel's as well, and killed the 「Sekiryuutei」?"

Minato chuckled lowly, a ghastly smile crossing his lips. "And just _think_ of what Vali will do if he ever discovers what you did. He'd have to wait for the 「Boosted Gear」 to find a new host and then sit on his hands until whoever gets it is combat-ready. I wouldn't want to be the one breaking that news to him, not after he's waited _so long_ for his rival to make itself known. Even Azazel won't be able to calm him down if he finds out that you delayed his promised fight."

He backed off now, content to watch her tremble like a leaf in the wind. Again, he was no sadist, but even he couldn't deny the amusement he felt at the terror radiating off of the, formerly smug, fallen angel. She had never met Vali, at least not to his knowledge, but she knew _of_ him and, more importantly, his reputation. Knew that he had the power to 「Divide」 her sorry ass until she would be unable to even attempt to defend herself from the wrath of a dragon denied its battle.

Before he could taunt her any further, Issei finally returned from his little trip, carrying several bags worth of chips, pretzels, crackers, and other assorted snacks, along with various bottles of soft drinks. Minato couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of it. He told the boy to come back with _some_ snacks and drinks, he instead returned with what looked like half the damn store. Oh well, that just meant fewer trips in the future to satisfy his late-night cravings, so long as he kept the rest of the crows from pecking away at his stash if and when they made a stop by the apartment Azazel had rented for him.

Minato took the bags with a small thanks and a smile. Issei seemed none the wiser and he was sure the message had properly sunken in as far as Raynare was concerned. If she had two brain cells to rub together she'd simply proceed on her little date and not try to murder the boy. And if she didn't follow his orders, he'd kill her for ruining the mission. Cold? Ruthless? Yes, of course. But such was the world they lived in.

Besides, occasional fits of boredom aside, he rather liked this assignment. Attending Kuoh Academy had been a delight so far, always something new and exciting going on at the school. He approached everything with bright eyes and wonderment, never having had the opportunity to attend school in the past. He had pretty much been raised at headquarters ever since Azazel found him, given the best tutors and caretakers possible, but book-learning and having people wait on him hand and foot couldn't and didn't replace the innate human desire to interact with more people around his own age. Minato could only tease the 「Eighth-Grade Dragon Emperor」 so many times before even he needed a break from it, and Lavinia was too busy with 「Slash/Dog」 to come around the base very often.

Once this mission was over he'd have to ask Azazel to keep him in Kuoh Town. Mark it down as keeping an eye on the devils that owned the territory, he didn't much care about the minor details. Now that he had a taste of what normal teenage life was like he was hesitant to simply leave it behind. A life beyond the fighting, beyond the training, beyond wondering in the back of his mind if he'd wake up and that day would be the one where the fragile peace between the Three Factions would shatter like glass. It was nice and relaxing.

"Alright, I gotta get going. You two enjoy the rest of your date. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, and make sure to wear protection~!" Minato said cheerfully, laughing at the expressions on Raynare and Issei's face. With any luck, Issei would somehow, either unknowingly or otherwise, make it past the dark-haired girl's bitchy exterior and she'd cling to him instead of chasing after Azazel or Shemhazai.

* * *

"It's your move."

Minato dropped his gaze from the ceiling of the underground sanctuary to the chess board that had been set up on top of a wooden crate, looking at the Stray Priest sitting across from him in mock-confusion. "Were we playing this?" The rolled eyes from the man made him smirk as he reached down to take a Pawn between his fingertips. He wasn't particularly good at Chess, never having much patience for the game, but he was good enough to knock around the newbies.

Unfortunately, before he had the chance to make his move the wooden door to the sanctuary flew open and in stomped Raynare. She had ditched her disguise at some point, back to wearing what Minato had once described as her "stripper outfit", and her face was twisted up in rage. She made a beeline to Minato and the teen inwardly groaned, already not feeling up for whatever argument was about to happen. Any Stray Priests in her way quickly got the hell out of it as she finally reached him, screaming all the while.

"You! You just had to ruin everything, didn't you?!"

"Hi, Ray-Ray! How are you? Did you enjoy your date? I take it by how mad you are that you didn't get laid. Or you did and it wound up being disappointing? I kinda doubt that though. 17 years of being a perverted virgin, I figure Hyoudou can really go if you push him hard enough," he said with a smile. If she was going to bother him over something stupid like her moronic would-be assassination attempt then he was going to do his utmost to have fun with this, at least before he tore her up something fierce.

"I should murder you for this! I had everything planned out perfectly and within the span of a few minutes you dismantled it all!"

"And what a _perfect_ plan it was. You lure a horny teenage boy out into the middle of nowhere and then gut him, how creative. With genius plans like those, you'll level up to a B-ranked horror film villain in no time! But hey, since I've got you here, can I ask you something? Whose territory is this?"

"What the hell does that-"

Minato made buzzer noises. "Wrong, sorry, ' _What the hell does that mean?'_ is not the correct answer. The correct answer _is,"_ he tapped rapidly on the makeshift table in an attempt to create a drumroll, "the Gremory and Sitri families! Next question! What system did devils create to replenish their forces after the Great War came to a screeching halt and they realized their race was set to be extinct sooner rather than later?"

"Do you think this is a game?!"

"That's two strikes, Ray-Ray. The answer was the 「Evil Piece System」, but I'll give you some points for answering in the form of a question twice in a row because that counts for something. Now, I don't know if you actually paid attention when Azazel was speaking or if you were just fantasizing about him taking you on his office desk but the Evil Piece system can revive almost anything and turn it into a Reincarnated Devil. You get where I'm going with this?"

Minato dropped any sort of playfulness now, his face becoming deadly serious. He felt the familiar burning sensation in his veins and quelled it before it could go any further. Despite everything, she _hadn't_ killed Hyoudou, or at least he assumed not judging by her reaction. That meant she got to live.

"Not only were you going against explicit orders to observe from a distance, you were about to hand Gremory or Sitri the 「Sekiryuutei」 on a silver fucking platter. How were you going to explain that one away when asked how our target died on your watch? Do you think a simple _'I'm sorry'_ would have made up for that? And even assuming one of them _didn't_ bring Hyoudou back from the dead, you would have blown our mission as well as our cover. So, I gotta ask, how the **fuck** did you think your plan would work out?"

"Don't speak to Lady Raynare like that, you trash! That an angel would even take the time to speak to you is an honor!"

Minato turned his eyes from Raynare to the crowd of Stray Priest onlookers. He didn't have to look hard to find whoever had spoken out considering the rest of the group took a step away from the man almost instantaneously. Taking a moment to process the words the man spoke, Minato's serious expression broke as he began to giggle, then chuckle, before finally breaking down in hysterical laughter, almost doubling over as the sound bounced off the stone walls of the underground sanctuary.

" _Lady_ Raynare?!" he practically shouted in-between fits of laughter. "Seriously?! Oi, Ray-Ray, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to fuck this guy because he called you that? Like, 2? Can't be any higher than that, the only person you seem to want to put out for these days is Az or Shem," Minato said, slipping into using his informal nicknames for two of their leaders. "Fucking hell. "Lady Raynare", oh man. That was good, I gotta say." He wiped a few tears out of his eyes as he finally got himself under control. He hadn't laughed that hard since the day Lavinia showed him Vali's old notebooks from when he was 13. God, that had been such a good day.

"Saying such crass things about one of God's Angels, you're just as heretical as Sellzen!"

The amusement that was on his face dropped off so quickly it was as if it was never there to begin with. He pushed past Raynare and stalked over to the Stray Priest the rest were giving a wide berth to. They, as well as Raynare considering the tinge of fear he could see in her eyes before he passed her, knew that their outspoken little exorcist had just stepped on a landmine. Within a few steps, Minato was standing face to face with the Stray Priest.

"Listen to me, okay? Really, _really_ listen, because I'm only going to say this once. If you ever, in your miserable life, compare me to Freed Sellzen again, I'll kill you. Okay? Do you and I have an understanding? I'll kill you, drag your corpse to the devils that run this town, have them reincarnate you, then kill you again on the spot just so you can go to your final resting place as part of the race you so despise. You get me?" he asked calmly, never once letting his voice rise beyond his normal speaking tone even as his 「Sacred Gear」 began to raise the temperature in the room to a sweltering, suffocating heat.

He forced his power to comply with his demands to turn it down, lest he lose control of himself and engulf the man in his Holy Flames out of sheer rage. To be compared to a monster like Freed Sellzen, who went around killing and raping as he so pleased, it was an insult beyond insults. He was nothing, **nothing,** like him, other than a few unfortunate physical similarities shared between the two, i.e. the white hair and red eyes. Freed Sellzen was a monster. Ayanami Minato was not. Full-stop, nothing more needed to be said. And Lord have mercy on anyone that tried to state otherwise because he had none for them.

The priest before him could only nod as he shook in terror, even as his sweat poured down his face and his eyes bulged in fear. That was all the answer Minato required. He looked over his shoulder to where Raynare was still standing, her entire body tensed as her violet-eyes stared into his blazing red ones. "The 「Sekiryuutei」 is off-limits to you now. Go near him again and you'll be lucky if all I do is inform Azazel about what you planned on doing."

He didn't wait for her response, simply turning on his heel and walking out the door and into the dark hallway that would take him to the stairs. No more words needed to be exchanged between the two of them. If she stepped out of line again then she would die. Hyoudou Issei, the unwitting owner of the 「Boosted Gear」, this generation's「Sekiryuutei」, and member of the 「Perverted Trio」, was an innocent. They did **not** kill innocents. If Raynare couldn't understand such a simple concept then she had to go, simple as that.

Finally reaching the ground floor, Minato paid no mind to Mittelt's questions as to what the hell had happened downstairs and why he had turned up the temperature of the entire building, merely walking out the Church door and resolving to get a good night's sleep after this tiring day. After all, he had classes tomorrow. Wouldn't be right for him to stay out late on a school night.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Alright, so, another experiment of mine, currently trying out a third-person narrative. This time with an OC that replaces no one (at least not to my knowledge of current DxD). Decided to go down a different path with this story than the usual fare of a normal human being reincarnated into a** **Peerage** **and have him be a part of Grigori instead, at least for the time being. Whether or not he'll wind a Devil is still up in the air.**

 **Harem pairing, because it wouldn't be DxD without it, and I've already decided which girls will be included. The only one I'm on the fence about is Le Fay Pendragon because she's so damn cute and adorable and I just want to pat her on the head.**

 **For those curious on what Minato Ayanami's appearance is exactly, Google up a picture of Accelerator from Toaru Majutsu no Index. That's my boy. God bless Accelerator and his laugh. However, only his look is borrowed for this fic, not his personality or powers (maybe another time though, that might be fun). Points to anyone that's figured out what Minato's Sacred Gear is though. I've left more than enough hints to figure it out but if you still don't know then you'll be stuck wondering for quite a while longer.**

 **As for canon, I'll be following it to some degree while still being detached from it. With Issei around to play the hero role when necessary, I'm free to explore uncharted territory. Look forward to that.**

 **Review, leave your thoughts, your concerns, your questions and I'll do my best to answer you all if/when I get off my butt and write a new chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Minato threw his tennis ball against the wall of his tiny bedroom once more, after having only given the man who had entered a brief glance. Black hair with gold bangs,_ _violet eyes,_ _and a black goatee, dressed in a suit and tie with an open overcoat thrown on. Standing behind the adult was some kid he had never seen before with light silver hair and_ _hazel_ _eyes,_ _wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. His eyes had a haughty_ _look to_ _them, along with a sort of utter indifference that got on his nerves before he had even said anything._

 _Minato decided he already didn't like the kid. Though, calling him a "kid" might have been a misnomer considering he looked older than him._ _But, then again, Minato still might have been_ _the older one between the_ _two_ _despite appearances. His age had just been another thing lost to him in a haze only a few weeks prior._ _The only thing he had left was his name and whatever possessions the orphanage gave him._

" _I told the matron I'm not seeing doctors anymore. My head's fine. Go away."_

" _What if I told you that I'm not a doctor? Would you talk to me then?"_

 _Minato laughed humorlessly, not bothering to glance at the man as he spoke. "Doubt you're here to try and adopt me, old man."_

" _Oh? And why's that?"_

 _That response finally got Minato paying attention, catching the tennis ball in his left hand before balling his right up into a fist, glaring into the adult's violet eyes with his r_ _uby_ _ones. "Don't think I don't know how this game goes. Just because I don't remember anything doesn't mean I haven't picked up the order of how things are run here."_

 _The man didn't respond, only raising an eyebrow in questioning which Minato took as a prompting to continue. Besides, he liked to hear himself talk. What did that one old bag of caretaker call it when she thought he couldn't hear her? Narcissism? He had some of that. "I'm not at that "look at him, he's so cute" age anymore like most of the kids here. I'm at the "he's going to grow up_ _quick_ _to be a real pain in the ass" stage, meaning the chances you're here to take me out of this place are pretty much_ _zero_ _. So I'll tell you again, I'm not talking to a doctor. **Leave.** "_

 _The man with the goatee hummed in acknowledgment of his answer. Minato hoped he finally got the message and would take him_ _self_ _and his stupid-looking brat out of his room already. He hated being bothered, being picked at and prodded by doctors who couldn't take no for an answer. He was tired of being asked how he felt or whether he remembered anything._ _All he wanted some peace and quiet in his room, where he could stay in his pajamas all day and nobody would bother him._

" _Well, like I said, I'm not a doctor. More of a scientist, really." Minato opened his mouth to tell him that he didn't care who he was anymore and that he wanted him to just get lost. "Scientist" was no better than "doctor" anyway. "Tell me, Ayanami-kun; have you ever felt special?"_

" _...You trying to call me stupid? Don't think I won't get up and kick your old ass," he threatened, ready to throw down. An empty bluff,_ _considering_ _the guy towered over him and could probably stop any type of assault he mounted on him just by putting his palm on his forehead and holding him back._

 _Didn't matter to him. Like he had said, he knew the "order" of how things were around here. You let somebody,_ _didn't matter who it was,_ _talk trash about you, sooner or later all the other kids would too. Then they'd start stealing your stuff, start blaming you for bad things,_ _just_ _make you_ _r life hell_ _in general_ _. Respect was a valuable commodity in these parts. It was why he quickly adopted a tough, take-on-all-comers attitude. It was why people at the orphanage knew better than to mess with him._

" _Nothing like that," he said after he finally stopped_ _chuckling_ _, an act that earned him another scowl from Minato_ _._ _His threats were not jokes to be laughed at._ _"My name is Azazel. This here," he gestured to the kid behind him, whose expression had gone from indifference to amusement at Minato's words, "is Vali. You can think of him as a sort of older brother figure if you'd like."_

 _The silver-haired child, Vali,_ _frowned_ _at_ _the n_ _ow_ _identified_ _Azazel. "I neither want nor need siblings, Azazel. I don't even see why we had to come down here directly." Vali turned his eyes back to Minato. "He doesn't look so important that we had to do this personally."_

 _Didn't look so important, eh? Little shit. Or, technically, "big shit" considering he was taller. Damn tall people coming into his life and screwing with him. He'd_ _knock them all down before beating them up, every last one._

" _Oi, old man. If you're actually serious about adopting me then I want a better sibling. One that's less of a stuck-up loser."_

" _What did you say?!" Vali snapped at him, visibly displeased at being insulted so openly._

" _Oh, I'm sorry, are you stupid? Can you not understand me? L-O-S-E-R. I can write it down in case you forget. Or are you so dumb you don't know how to read?_ _And what's with that hair? Did you do that dye job yourself?_ _"_

" _This is my natural color, and as if you're one to talk. Nice white hair, imbecile."_

 _Azazel just laughed, even as Minato and Vali gl_ _owered_ _at one another, red eyes boring into_ _brown_ _and vice-versa, neither willing to back down or give up an inch of ground_ _as they practically growled at each other_ _. "_ _Tell me, Ayanami-kun," he said, Minato's eyes flickering up to Azazel's to meet his gaze,_ _finally breaking the minor staring_ _(glaring)_ _contest between the two boys_ _._

" _Have you ever heard the term_ 「Sacred Gear」 _before?"_

* * *

"- and then I told 'em to lay off the 「Sekiryuutei」 before coming home and crashing. You got all that down, Anne?" Minato finished, shoveling another piece of his maple syrup-drenched pancake into his mouth. Breakfast really was the best meal of the day and the only way to get through having to recount yesterday's events without either boring himself half to death or becoming irritated at the sheer idiocy that plagued his "coworkers".

"Sat up in the base all day, got bored, found Raynare on a fake-date with the target, told her to not do anything stupid, then ordered her to leave him be. That about right?"

The white-haired teen looked at the fairy, his Familiar-that-wasn't-a-Familiar (and God help you if you called her that because she'd bite your head off over it), hovering above his dining room table with annoyance. Only a few inches in height, wearing a black leotard that went with her equally black wings, elbow-length gloves and high heeled boots that went all the way up her leg, only stopping at her pale thigh. Long, at least relative to her size, white hair only a shade or two darker than his own, with two tufts – that Minato had once dubbed "feelers" and gotten an hour-long lecture on how she was _not_ some bug – sticking out from the front. Light blue eyes, pale white skin, and the small smirk she had on her face, clearly pleased with having gotten under his skin, finished her look.

"Make it sound more impressive when you write it up. And do me the favor of cutting out the bit where I didn't do anything and spent most of the day screwing around. I don't need Shem chewing me out again for slacking off while I'm on birdwatching duty."

"Right, right," she said absentmindedly. "Considering how many times Shemhazai-sama's done it I'm surprised there's anything left _to_ chew. On the bright side, at least the pervert's still alive. Would have been more of a pain if he went and become a devil because Raynare did something stupid."

"She wouldn't have had the opportunity to do that ' _something stupid'_ if the freeloading fairy living in my apartment actually did her goddamn job and kept watch over him like I told her to. I told you to stay with him because I knew the crows couldn't be trusted to not try and ax him at the nearest convenience. When I said ' _Anne, keep an eye on Hyoudou Issei'_ I did not mean _'Anne, keep an eye on Hyoudou Issei until you get bored, in which case you can fuck off back home and go to sleep'_."

He had worked with the fallen angels he had been sent to Kuoh Town with in the past, both individually and as a group. It was why he was so sure they weren't trustworthy. Too power-driven, too up their own asses with their racial superiority garbage, and in Raynare's case specifically, too obsessed with making herself "useful" to Azazel and Shemhazai. Even Mittelt, the one member of the group he could actually stand to have a half decent conversation with when they were both in a good enough mood, was the same way as the other three, with the only difference being she was more hotheaded than the rest and had a tendency to solve her problems with a mindset of "stab it with a spear until it stops squirming".

That lack of confidence in their ability to not do something utterly stupid led him to order Anne to trail Issei. Raynare and her flock of feathered friends couldn't do anything to harm the 「Sekiryuutei」 without his knowledge if his fairy reported back to him if and when they should ever approach the perverted young man.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Anne's slothful nature, one that rivaled his own if he was being honest, overrode her orders and she let him out of sight so she could come back to his apartment and nap. Which, granted, he probably would have done the same in her shoes, but at least he conducted himself somewhat professionally when he was on the job.

It was only the fact that he caught Raynare before she had the chance to all but hand Issei over to Gremory or Sitri, whichever devil got to him first, that stopped him from giving Anne a serious punishment. If the boy had died then Raynare, at the very least, would be three feet under and Minato would have ordered everyone else back to headquarters down in the 「Underworld」. He wasn't about to take the chance of the two heiresses in town mistaking Raynare's movements as actions sanctioned by 「Grigori」, nor would he risk the possibility of a counterattack.

Could he take them on in a fight? Definitely. Could he take them _together_ , with their respective servants – '「Peerage」 _'_ , he mentally amended – _and_ keep the town intact? Eh, probably not. He'd still win, of that he had little doubt, but there would be collateral damage, and collateral damage meant the loss of lives. Innocent lives that didn't ask to be caught in the middle of their confrontation and Minato couldn't have that. That wasn't even mentioning just how much shit he'd be in for, technically, allowing Raynare to murder a human being on his watch while in the territory that the Gremory and Sitri heiresses owned. Even Azazel, for all the leeway the man gave him, wouldn't have been able to let that slide.

"Listen, I can only watch a hormonal teenage boy for so many hours of the day before even I get tired of seeing him drool over girls. I deal with that enough when I'm around you. And it's even _worse_ when I have to listen to him and his friends go on about how they're going to have harems all to themselves."

Minato held back a sigh. All the fairies in the world and he had to make a deal with the one most like himself in personality. He should have just left her in Europe when he had the chance instead of agreeing to the contract she proposed at the end of their impromptu team-up.

"Oi," he began, affronted. "I do _not_ drool. I'm not an animal. I keep my saliva in my fucking mouth." They both paused, looking at one another as they processed what Minato had just said. However, never one to back down, he merely doubled down rather than rescind his statement. "I know what I said!"

Anne sighed. "How did I wind up with an abusive, idiotic, vulgar master like you?" she said with an exaggeratedly forlorn expression that made Minato roll his eyes.

"Because you're a lazy glory hound that figured you could hitch a ride on my ticket. How's that going, by the way?" he asked, dropping his eyes back to his plate as he resumed eating.

"Could be worse. And if you call me lazy one more time then you can start writing your own status and mission reports. I'm sure you'd love to explain to Shemhazai-sama why half of it is chicken-scratch and the other half is you talking about how incredible you are in the third-person."

"Lazy, lazy, _lazy_ Freeloader Fairy. Now pass me the syrup," he requested, hand outstretched for Anne to levitate the plastic bottle off the kitchen countertop and drop it into his open palm. Instead what he got was said plastic bottle flung at his head, maple syrup spilling through the cap and into his white hair. His white hair that he had just made nice and clean after a relaxing morning shower to wake him up properly. He slowly rose his head, staring daggers at the mischievous fairy that was smirking oh so smugly at him.

"Whoops. It slipped. I guess being so _lazy_ has made my magic control rusty. I'll try to- Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, no reason," Minato said, grabbing the bottle and slowly unscrewing the cap. "You know, you're right. I guess I _have_ been rather demanding of you lately." His own smirk became a full-blown evil grin now. He felt the sticky substance seep deeper into his hair and drip down onto his face, guaranteeing that there was no way he'd be able to clean it off with anything less than another shower. Popping the top off and letting it clatter against the wooden table, his eyes spoke volumes of the disaster he was about to unleash upon his fairy. "To make up for all the overwork and stress, how about I give you a nice _bath?"_

"...Master, please have mercy."

She only called him "Master" in three circumstances; when the situation was of the utmost seriousness and importance, when she was just oozing pure sarcasm, or when she was pleading with him. And this most certainly wasn't the former two.

Minato would come home later that day to a formal noise complaint from his neighbors taped to his door. Something about a girl screaming that it would take hours to get all of that "sticky gunk' off of her body, a teenage boy's maniacal laughter, and loud crashing sounds. He didn't pay it much mind. He had more important things to attend to at the time, like figuring out how to best get maple syrup out of his carpet and off the ceiling.

* * *

Kuoh Academy was a wonderful and fascinating place.

The hustle and bustle that accompanied the final bell, from friends meeting each other in the hallway to talk about their plans after school to the exhausted students shuffling off soundlessly, the sight of it all left him smiling. They were all so free, so unburdened by troubles like preventing a possible battle due to the idiocy of their subordinates. Their biggest worries were things like how to become more popular, what to not say to avoid looking like a doofus in front of the person they liked, and whether or not they had the right answers on their homework. It was enviable, in a way. That normal, stable, life was something worth treasuring, whether the people around him knew it or not.

Vali would have given him so much crap about that line of thinking, that damn battle maniac. Probably say something he thought was "cool" like how all the students before him were simply scurrying along without any real direction or purpose while he and Minato had goals they both wanted to achieve and the potential to put those goals within reach. Then he'd stuff his hands in his pockets and walk away without a second glance at any of them, leaving Minato to roll his eyes and chase after him. The fact that he would probably manage to pull off looking cool while doing something so dumb – not that Minato would _ever_ tell him that he looked cool under any circumstances, even under threat of torture or pain of death – just grated on him even more.

All of that aside, life was good in Kuoh Town. Sure, he had to maneuver so as to not accidentally restart the Great War because one particularly antagonistic little birdy just had to get her murder on, and then the rest of the flock kept getting on his last nerve, but other than those minor issues things were nice. He really would have to thank Azazel again the next time he dropped by headquarters. Minato hadn't even wanted to take this assignment at first, feeling that the company he would have to keep were simply too much of a headache. Azazel had only gotten him on board with an enrollment into Kuoh Academy and an urging to interact and socialize with kids his own age for a change while he kept watch on Issei. Such a deal had been too good to pass up.

Speaking of Issei, the brown-haired lad was currently running up to Minato, a panicked look on his face. He hoped it wasn't Issei trying to use him as a human shield to escape the Kendo Club's ire again. It was difficult enough talking them down from trying to use the perverted boy as a training dummy the first time around. If he expected a repeat performance then he might just join those girls in venting some frustrations.

"Minato!" He raised an eyebrow. Issei actually calling him by name? Rare event. Things must have been serious. Of course, that could mean seriously _important_ or seriously _stupid._ Hell, with Issei it could be both. "Do you remember Yuuma-chan? The girl I was out with yesterday? Tell me I'm not going crazy and that you remember seeing her!"

Minato winced. Looked like Raynare had wiped everyone's memory of her presence, a common tactic for any supernatural force when they were done with an assignment. The only issue was that it tended to not work on those with stronger wills and sturdier minds. It was difficult enough rewriting the memories of normal human beings, but those that had a 「Sacred Gear」 tended to be tougher than most despite a lack of training, with Issei proving to be no exception.

He winced because this put him in a difficult situation. Lie and break the poor guy's heart, letting him believe that his first girlfriend never actually existed and that the whole thing never happened, just some fantasy he cooked up. Tell him the truth, that she definitely existed, and send him chasing after someone that didn't give two damns about him and had planned on gutting him the moment they were alone. Or tell him the _whole_ truth, privately of course, and introduce him to a side of the world that he simply wasn't equipped to deal with at the moment, on top of crushing his feelings, the worst of both worlds. It should have been an easy decision, but having to comfort a heartbroken teen wasn't in his job description.

Making up his mind, he decided to go with what would be best for them both at the moment. Issei may come to hate him when he finally discovered the truth but, hopefully, that day would arrive when he was mature enough to understand that he didn't do it out any sort of malice.

"I-"

"Hyoudou-kun, I've been looking for you." Both Minato and Issei's heads snapped to the person approaching them. Short blond hair and blue eyes, a small mole under the right one, and the ever-present smile on his face. Behind him were a gaggle of girls, ranging from whispering about Kiba's presence to openly asking why he was looking for one of the most perverted boys in the school. "Rias Gremory-senpai would like to formally request your presence for a small meeting before you leave. I'm here to escort you to our club room."

Minato's mind stopped for only a brief second before running a mile a minute. _'Now? Of all days, she picks today?!',_ he thought in a small panic. He had been expecting Rias to make her move to claim the 「Sekiryuutei」 for her 「Peerage」 for quite some time now, even having been surprised that she hadn't done it in Issei's first year at the academy. But now? After his near-death (not that he would know) experience? Or was she not even aware of what Raynare had been intending and this was mere coincidence?

So wrapped up in his own thoughts, he didn't even hear what Issei's answer was, only registering that he was walking away from him and following behind the blond. He quickly jogged up behind them, falling in step and accompanying them, an act that drew Kiba's attention.

"Ah, sorry, Ayanami-kun. This is only an invitation for Hyoudou-kun."

Of course it was. Rias likely had no idea that he had a 「Sacred Gear」 because he had asked Anne to place runes and seals on his body to conceal it from detection as much as possible, his small slips in control notwithstanding. At best all the redhead would be able to sense was that he had some low tier one, something not capable of being much assistance to a devil. However, just because he wasn't invited didn't mean he wasn't tagging along.

"Ehhh, really? But I'm so bored, and I'd just _love_ to see what a club centered around the occult gets up to," he said, loudly at that. He just needed to make a scene, one that drew enough attention to leave Kiba uncomfortable with refusing. Once Minato was in the club room he had a general idea of what to say to draw Rias' attention to him, and that would be all he needed.

Azazel didn't really care one way or another if the unawakened 「Sekiryuutei」 became a devil or not, though he obviously would have preferred the boy be on their side if for no reason other than to research the 「Boosted Gear」 more thoroughly. No, this was entirely for Minato's own reasons and beliefs. If Rias wanted to make the boy a part of her faction, fine. And if Issei accepted of his own free will then Minato would gladly step aside and let the boy do as he wished. But that was exactly it, it would be by his _choice._ No manipulations, no promises that would most certainly go unfulfilled, no threats, no outside forces pushing Issei to accept. It would be by his free will alone that he made a deal with the devil, anything less and Minato would intervene.

Human beings were not dogs in a litter for supernatural forces to come and take away the best of the bunch for the sake of reincarnation. They had their own agency, their own free will, their own right to create a path for themselves. It was the one thing Minato and that 「True Longinus」-wielding bastard had agreed upon during their confrontation in Rome, where he had been sent on a mission to put down a chimera. Human beings should shape their own future, a future where they were more than simply fodder for other races, that was a sentiment they both shared. Of course, the methods by which humans should attain such a future was where they disagreed entirely and why he almost came to blows with the so-called leader of the 「Hero Faction」. Genocide upon all non-humans was not only a non-viable solution, it was utterly abhorrent and put several people close to him on the guillotine. He'd sooner ram his fist through Cao Cao's chest and tear out his beating heart before he ever let the man harm his family.

However, putting his own thoughts on humanity to the side, there was no evidence to support that Rias Gremory viewed humans as mere cattle the way so many other members of her race did. From all accounts of what he had heard about the Gremory family as a whole, they were actually quite kind and affectionate to those they took under their wing. But until he saw such acts with his own two eyes he would put no stock in rumors and hearsay. Not when someone's personal freedom and humanity was at stake.

Which was why, when Kiba finally relented with a strained smile, Minato beamed.

It was time to have a talk with Rias Gremory.

* * *

' _These people need an interior decorator.'_

That was the first thought Minato had as his eyes swept over the 「Occult Research Club」 members and their room. The furniture itself looked nice – and expensive – but the rest of the room was so off. From the floor, which had a huge magic circle drawn in the center of it, to ceiling, the entire room had various markings. Some of them he recognized, most he didn't. He had never been particularly attentive during Shemhazai's lessons on sigils, runes, and other conduits to which beings, from humans to devils and everything in-between, could channel their magic. As far as magic went he knew the rudimentary basics for spellcasting but was more than content to simply use his 「Sacred Gear」 along with Anne's supporting spells in battle.

"-nami-kun? Ayanami-kun?"

His eyes snapped from looking around the sparsely lit room – seriously, who used candelabras as a light source in the modern era? And would it kill them to pull back the blinds on the windows to let some sunlight in? – to the redhead sitting behind the desk.

Rias Gremory, heiress apparent to the Gremory family, holding the ranking of「High-Class」, the 「Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess」, and current 「President of the Occult Research Club」. There were also some other titles like 「Number 1 Beauty of Kuoh Academy」 but he didn't pay those ones much attention as they weren't particularly important in these circumstances. He had more pressing issues than the attractiveness of the 「King」 before him, giving him a kind smile even as he could see the slight irritation hidden in her sapphire eyes. It seemed that when he had been busy looking around Kiba had taken the time to explain just why he was here if his apologetic expression was anything to go by.

"I can understand your interest in our club and I would be more than happy to schedule a time for us to talk in the future but this is a private meeting for Hyoudou-san."

Translation? _'You're interfering, so please leave and I'll deal with you later.'_ Maybe worded a bit nicer but that was the core meaning of what she was saying, and the minute amount of demonic power he could feel pressing upon him told him as much. It wasn't a show of force, more like trying to place a suggestion in his mind to simply walk away from the scene without an argument or much fuss. He shrugged off the attempt, an act he was sure got Rias attention judging by the way her eyes widened just the tiniest bit.

' _Time to have a little fun.'_

He had been planning what to say if he caught himself in such a situation, both for his own amusement and to see if he could get a reaction from Rias. It was time to see just how unflappable one of the "Great Ladies" of Kuoh Academy really was.

"Sorry, Gremory-senpai. I'm too interested to not stick around just a little while longer. Besides, your magic won't work on me. After all," his smile widened before he gave her a wink, as though he was letting them all in on some big secret of his, "I'm a 「ESPer」."

ESPer, or Esper; someone with psychic powers. A commonly used trope in entertainment media, particularly Japanese anime, manga, light novels, and visual novels. It was something he had picked up from one of Vali's ramblings in the notebooks he wrote in as a child. He obviously _didn't_ have any sort of ability but seeing the confusion on the ORC member's, as well as Issei's, faces was rewarding enough.

"Really?"

But _that_ reaction from Rias was one he had most certainly not been expecting. She looked like a little kid that was just told Christmas had come early. Her face held a look of utter fascination as she stared at him, to the point that Minato actually started to feel a little bad. Minato filed away the knowledge that she was interested in such things for later use, particularly if he ever decided to tease the girl a little.

Rias' face changed when everyone else in the room turned to look at her in confusion, quickly schooling herself back into looking unaffected as though she hadn't just asked him if he seriously had psychic abilities with such excitement.

"Nah, I'm just messing with you. But I do have a **power** kind of like Issei's though."

And just like that, with that sentence, Minato had put the entire room on edge. Everyone, save the brown-haired boy he was referring to, knew what he really meant. _'I have a_ 「Sacred Gear」 _. I know who and what you all are,'_ that was the real message hidden in his statement. His words brought an uncomfortable silence upon the room as he could tell the devils were sizing him up now, trying to determine whether or not he was a threat.

"Can everyone start talking normally? Magic and ESPers and this "power" thing, why is everyone being so weird?"

Minato chuckled before taking a seat right next to Toujou Koneko, the school's (un)official mascot. Leave it to Issei to break the tense atmosphere while unintentionally cutting right to the heart of the matter. Well, that was fine too. He had had his fun, now it was time to get down to serious matters.

"I'll let you explain things," Minato said to Rias, leaning back and getting comfortable. "You and I can have our talk after you're done."

Rias was still clearly suspicious of him now and obviously uncomfortable talking with an unknown such as himself in the room but carried on as though he wasn't there, slowly explaining to Issei everything about the supernatural world. While she did that, Minato took the time to review everything he knew about the members of Kuoh Academy's 「Occult Research Club」.

Kiba Yuuto, the first person to receive the title of 「Prince」 at the school. Rias Gremory's 「Knight」 and possessor of 「Sword Birth」, a 「Sacred Gear」 that could create various demonic swords. The only known survivor of the Church's 「Holy Sword Project」, their disgusting attempt to create artificial holy sword wielders to bolster their ranks. The experiments of that project were what had given Valper his moniker of the 「Genocide Archbishop」, as he had been the one to oversee and sign off on all experiments before he deemed the results were without merit and murdered all of the children he used as test subjects. Once his misdeeds came to light the Church quickly washed their hands of him, declaring that he had been acting of his own accord – a story Minato didn't believe for even a single second – and excommunicating him.

Just thinking about that old man and his crimes made Minato want to break something. When he had first learned of Kiba's history he went straight to Azazel and demanded that Valper be transferred to Kuoh Town post-haste. He had fully intended on arranging a personal "meeting" between the two, one that would hopefully let the blond lay whatever demons he likely had to rest when he rammed one of his swords through Valper's skull. Unfortunately, such a thing never came to pass. Azazel informed him that Valper was unavailable, in another part of the world altogether and that even if he wasn't he would not be sending the former archbishop to Japan just so Minato could have him killed.

That had been yet another argument between Minato and Azazel.

' _How can you claim to want peace while harboring such a vile man within our ranks? How can you defend him instead of offering someone the vengeance that they so rightly deserve?'_

Azazel said nothing about his comments, only forcefully telling him that it was not up for discussion and that Valper Galilei would not be handed over as though he were a lamb to the slaughter. And for as much as Minato disagreed, for as much as he wanted nothing more than to watch the **「Knight」** receive the closure he deserved, he would not disobey. Azazel had risen him from nothing, at a time in his life where he _had_ and _was_ absolutely nothing. Taken him in and never asked for anything in return. Comforted him when he was feeling miserable. Praised him for his achievements. Given him a real family and people to connect to, people to keep him grounded in reality. For all of that and more, Minato stayed his hand and did not push the issue.

At its core, he understood the reasoning. If they started executing members of the organization for their past crimes and transgressions then large groups of them would abandon 「Grigori」 without a second thought. Not everyone had been joined for the same reasons he had, taking a place among the organization's ranks out of gratitude towards its 「Governor-General」 and wanting to make himself useful to repay the man. No, they joined with the promise of protection and amnesty. Revoke that and they would see no reason to stay. The fallen angels had no way to replenish their forces other than tempting angels away from 「Heaven」 or the union between a fallen angel and another race, typically human. If the fallen angel race dwindled to nothing then it was inevitable that devils or angels would seek to fill the space they left behind, meaning war would once again break out. To prevent that, Azazel had to take whatever means possible to ensure his race survived, even if it meant recruiting absolute scum. Minato understood, even sympathized, with the man's plight and did whatever possible to take however much of the burden he could off of his shoulders, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

' _Speaking of fallen angels and humans...'_

Minato's eyes flicked to the girl standing by Rias' side and his expression softened. Himejima Akeno, daughter of Baraqiel and the deceased Himejima Shuri. Rias' 「Queen」, known as the 「Priestess of Thunder」. A gorgeous young woman in her own right, her beauty rivaling that of the 「King」 next to her. Before he had left the 「Underworld」 Baraqiel had come to him and asked him to look after his daughter when he could, a personal request that deeply humbled Minato. To have one of the leaders of 「Grigori」 ask such a thing, for the older man to place such faith in him to be the one to do it, how could he not be humbled? And yet he had made no contact with her until now, a fact that left him feeling guilty. It wasn't for a lack of trying, he just didn't know how exactly to approach her.

' _Hey, you remember that father you haven't spoken to in several years? Yeah, I work for him! Small world, ain't it? Anyway, wanna hang out?'_

Yeah, that would go over _so_ well.

Minato didn't know much about their situation other than Baraqiel and Akeno hadn't spoken to each other since her mother's death. Why Baraqiel didn't just go to his daughter himself, Minato had no clue and it frankly wasn't his business. He had no right to intrude on their lives without being asked. For now, he would do as Baraqiel asked and look out for his daughter in his stead and that was it. If somewhere down the line he got the father and daughter to reconcile then that would be great, but he wouldn't push it upon her.

On a somewhat related note, he had also promised to not put the moves on Akeno either, with Baraqiel very calmly telling him that if he tried the man would put him so deep into the dirt that he'd be shaking hands with whatever the hell lived at the center of the Earth. Finally getting a chance to observe her up close, he wasn't too sure he'd be able to honor his word on that one. _"Don't mess around with the boss' daughter"_ , that had to be the first rule of working anywhere, especially if you wanted to keep your insides from being turned into your outsides, so to speak. And yet, still, the temptation was most certainly there.

Not his fault the older girl was drop dead gorgeous. He'd be doing himself a disservice if he didn't ask her out at least once. And he'd be lying if he said he didn't want to see Baraqiel's face if he ever decided to call him "Pops". The dark-haired man would probably have a heart attack, then get up and throttle him while Azazel laughed his ass off. Just imagining such a scene forced him to stifle his chuckles, getting an odd look from the small girl sitting next to him, which brought him to the final member of the club.

Toujou Koneko, the academy's adorable mascot and the last known member of Rias' 「Peerage」. Little information was available on her, just that she was a nekomata-turned-devil and that she had been Rias' 「Rook」 for quite some time. Quiet and stoic, she was the one member of the group whose past he didn't know, and that just made her all the more interesting to him. He was always up for a good mystery (when it wasn't cutting into his busy schedule of slacking off) and the first-year student definitely fit the bill. Didn't hurt that she was so damn freaking cute he just wanted to pat her on the head. He refrained from doing so out of a desire to not feel her enhanced strength firsthand.

"-with that said, everyone in this room is a devil."

Minato's hand shot up into the air. "Except me! I'm just your standard, ordinary, run-of-the-mill human," he said, cheeky grin in place. Rias cast an annoyed glance his way, clearly displeased with having the serious atmosphere she was going for trampled upon by his jokes. They both knew at this point that he was most certainly not anything resembling ordinary, not with his knowledge of her group's true nature.

"Issei," Rias began, tearing her eyes away from Minato to focus on Issei, "knowing what you know now, I'd like to offer you the opportunity to become a devil."

' _And there it is.'_

Now all that was left was Issei's response. Minato hoped that the boy would ask for something like a 24-hour window to calmly and rationally think things through, weigh the pros and cons, and come to a good decision. He would have been more than happy to lend Issei whatever advice he could, without outright telling him whether or not he should accept the deal.

"If I become a devil, I'll get my own servants right? Can I do perverted things with them?"

' _...Please let him just be joking.'_

"Once you reach the level of 「High-Class」 then you will receive your own 「Evil Piece」 set. You'll be free to form your own 「Peerage」, and it should be fine if you do those types of things with them."

"Then I'm in!"

' _ **PLEASE** let him be joking!_ _'_

Minato coughed, trying to shut down his urge to start swearing up a storm. That was it? That was all it took to recruit the 「Sekiryuutei」? The promise of getting laid sometime in the future?! This had to be a joke. Yeah, that was it. A very funny joke Issei was playing on them all. Surely, _surely_ , he was not about to sign his humanity away so easily.

"You, uh, sure about this, Issei? You're making a pretty big sacrifice here, and there's no going back," Minato asked, ignoring the pointed look Rias was giving him for interfering. He just wanted to make sure Issei wasn't making a hasty decision he'd come to regret.

"Of course! If it's for the sake of my dream I'll gladly become a devil! Then there's nothing left to stop me from becoming the 「Harem King」!"

「Harem King」.

He had already given himself a title.

God, Vali was going to cry when he saw that _this_ was his rival. A guy so obsessed with women that he was literally going to offer up his humanity for the opportunity – though it really might as well have been a guarantee, the chances of the 「Sekiryuutei」 not making it to 「High-Class」 were pretty low – to have a harem.

The white-haired boy just sighed. He did tell himself he would step aside if Issei was sure on his choice, and the fire in his eyes definitely said he was sure. Human beings had the right to make their own choices, even if said choices resulted in no longer being human. Believing in the concept of free will really was a right pain in the ass sometimes.

"Alright, alright, no need to shout it at me. If you think it'll make you happy then go for it. I wish you the best of luck in accomplishing that dream of yours."

Those words earned him a curious glance from the redhead. Did she think he was going to outright prevent Issei from accepting, even against his will? That wasn't his style. From what parts he did pick out of Rias' explanation as he faded in and out of the conversation, she had given him a decent rundown on all the important bits of becoming a devil and what it entailed. Now that the boy was making an informed (albeit, not particularly well-thought-out or even mature) decision, Minato wouldn't stand in his way.

But damn, was it really that easy to attract him to one side? All that would have been required to lure him to 「Grigori」 was to give Kalawarner and Raynare the order to actually seduce him and he really would have followed along of his own volition. That level of lust put fallen angels and devils, even added together, to shame. It was almost admirable, in a warped sort of sense.

"Thanks! You're not so bad after all, 「Harbor Prince」. But, you said you're a human, right? Are you here to become a devil too?"

Minato smiled as he saw faintest signs of interest light up in Rias' eyes, no doubt hoping that he would answer yes. Two 「Sacred Gear」 owners, one of which clearly had knowledge of the 「Underworld」 at the very least? It was almost too good to be true. And, unfortunately for her, it was. Besides, he doubted she had the strength to bring him back anyway. She'd need a 「Mutation Piece」 to have a decent chance, considering she was likely about to blow her entire set of 「Pawn」 pieces on the 「Sekiryuutei」. 「Heavenly Dragons」 didn't come cheap, after all.

"Nah, becoming a devil's not really interesting to me right now. Think I'll stick with this human thing for a while, see how it plays out."

"If you say so. So, Buchou, what do I do now?"

Minato would give the guy points for enthusiasm if nothing else. If he approached his responsibilities with the same kind of excitement as he did becoming a 「Harem King」 then he'd be 「High-Class」 before the school year was even finished.

* * *

Minato laughed as Issei sullenly picked up his stack of flyers and walked out, the door shutting behind him. He hadn't looked too happy with his new life already. Oh well, he did try to warn him. Not his fault that the boy thought with his dick instead of his brain half of the time. At least he and his new 「King」 gave him a proper light show with that reincarnation ritual. And, just as he had expected, the boy required the full set of 8 「Pawn」 pieces to turn into a devil. He still hadn't told any of them that he had a 「Longinus」, much less the fact that he was the 「Sekiryuutei」. He'd leave that for a later day, after the current excitement had worn off.

"That kid's gonna be a handful, can tell you that right now."

"Who are you?"

And speaking of excitement, it looked like it was time for his own chat with the redhead.

He turned his head away from the door and looked back to Rias. She, along with everyone else in the room, was staring at him with caution in their eyes. He likely hadn't done himself any favors by interrupting Rias earlier but he didn't much mind. First impressions were never his strong suit, he was more the "you need to get to know him to be able to stand him" kind of person. Unless he didn't like you, in which case he was more a "he's going to make your life difficult" sort of guy.

"Ayanami Minato, second-year, the 「Prince of the Harbor」 and-"

"Don't play games with me. Tell me who you are, now. Who sent you?"

The teen gave a low whistle. Scary, scary. That glint in Rias' eye, it told him in no uncertain terms that if he kept screwing around he was liable to get an up-close-and-personal showing of the 「Power of Destruction」. Such a dangerous look, promising untold amounts of destruction all aimed at him, it was almost enough to really get his blood pumping.

Dangerous women; the one true weakness of Ayanami Minato.

"Okay, geez. Twist my arm, why don't ya? I'll tell you who I am and what I'm doing here on the condition that you actually let me finish explaining everything _without_ trying to blast my head off. Is that okay? Can we agree to these terms?"

Rias gave him a curt nod, not taking her eyes off of him.

"k, cool. I'm currently employed by 「Grigori」-" Everyone tensed immediately and the atmosphere of the room changed entirely. Koneko, who was still sitting next to him on the couch, looked ready to restrain him if and when her 「King」 gave the order. The blonde 「Knight」 sitting on the couch opposite of them was looking set to spring into action in much the same way, likely able to summon a demonic sword to place at his throat at a moment's notice. And as far as Rias and Akeno were concerned, he could feel their demonic powers rising, ready to cast whatever spell in their arsenal to incapacitate him.

But it was Rias' power in particular that really caught his attention. That small amount of demonic power she had used before to try and sway his mind had not done her justice. She was like a raging storm before him now, threatening to crush him if he made even the slightest of movements. A tempest that would tear him to shreds in an instant. An inferno that would burn away his very soul until all that remained was smoldering cinders. 「Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess」 indeed.

Such feelings left him weak in the knees and made his heart race, though probably not for the reasons Rias would expect.

' _If she keeps pulling moves like th_ _is I'm_ _gonna wind up falling in love~'_ he joked to himself, his smile never once leaving his face. This club was getting more and more interesting by the second. "Oi, I thought you said we could talk. Going back on your word, Miss Heiress?"

"I have nothing to say to the enemy, especially one that infiltrates my school and forces himself into a private meeting."

He sighed. So close-minded, so rash. Devils were such a difficult bunch. Though, that was a bit unfair. _Every_ race was too damn difficult for their own good, always ready to jump the gun and assume the worst when it came to the other factions. "If I was an enemy do you think I would be sitting here, trying to have a civil discussion? If this is because you assume I'm a fallen angel then I can say it again if you'd like; I'm a human. Hell, you can have some of my blood if you want to check that. I'm just a low-level guy in the service of 「Grigori」."

Now _that,_ that was a lie. He was definitely not "low-level" but he figured that telling Rias that he was high enough in the chain that he only really had to take orders from the leaders of 「Grigori」 directly wouldn't go well with his attempt at appearing non-hostile. He could clear the air about it later, when they trusted him more. _If_ they ever came around to trusting him at all.

"Then Azazel must be half mad to send you into my territory unannounced and without my approval."

Minato let out a bark of laughter at that. Not a bad description of the man, to be fair. And technically she was right, as this was supposed to be a _secret_ assignment, but he was pretty sure Azazel would forgive him. The man told him to go and make some friends at school, he was just following orders. "Half mad? Try completely bonkers. But he's still sane enough to know that such a move would be more than a little stupid. I came here of my own volition, no orders from upstairs. This is just me reaching out to some of the local devils."

He finally felt the swirl of demonic power boiling up in Rias simmer down and relaxed as the other members of her club followed suit, not lowering the guards but no longer looking ready to assault him either. It appeared like things could be settled peacefully after all, so long as he kept talking. He had no desire to end this night in a fight, after all. "And why would you do that? You realize you're putting your life in danger, no?"

"It's only in danger if you make it that way. I'm just here to be friends and enjoy the everyday school life of a normal high school kid, at least until my missions are over." Rias raised an eyebrow at the word "missions" and he decided to elaborate, lest her mind somehow twist "missions" into "assassinations" or something equally nefarious. "I was sent to Kuoh Town for a few reasons; one, to monitor the group assigned to Hyoudou Issei to make sure his 「Sacred Gear」 didn't go berserk. Two, to observe the boy myself and get the measure of him. Three, to escort a new recruit arriving in a few days down to our HQ. And four, and most importantly..."

"To just enjoy myself and have a bit of fun."

"That's what this is to you? _Fun?_ " Akeno asked, unable to comprehend the idea that the boy on their couch would take such a huge risk with his life simply for the sake of having a good time.

"Should it not be? You guys are the ones taking this all serious-like. I'm not here to hurt anybody, I'm not your enemy and I'm not going to threaten you."

"And your words when I was asking Issei if he wished to be a devil? Were you attempting to undermine me?"

He scoffed. "Trust me, if I wanted to "undermine" you I'd have just recruited him into 「Grigori」 already. I seriously don't get why you waited so long to make a move but I won't tell you how to do your business. I asked him if he was sure about what he was doing because I wanted him to think before he leaped. Silly me, I forgot thinking isn't his strong suit," Minato said with a small laugh. "Lemme ask you something. Is it true that the Gremory treat their servants like family?"

"It is," she replied firmly, not knowing why he was changing the subject. "We prefer to view them as people rather than property."

"A view I can get behind. But you must know that makes you abnormal. So much so that I can't help but wanna get to know you a bit, at least before I go home." And the power she had shown off made his skin tingle real nicely, but he'd keep that under his hat. It was bad enough that he had picked up such a troubling character trait after years of exposure to Vali and his battle-hungry personality. "With that said..." he looked around the room, taking it all in before glancing at Rias again, flashing her a smile. "Got any openings in this here club of yours?"

"You-"

"I mean, if I'm an enemy like you think I am can you _really_ afford to let me run around, doing whatever I want with no one to watch over me? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? If you'd like, we can even make a pact. Something like "I, Ayanami Minato, swear to inflict no harm upon any allies of the Gremory family." and toss in some punishment like I'll be executed if I break my word. I'll even keep the crows I'm watching over on a short leash, make sure they don't stray too far from the nest, if you catch my drift. That sound good to you?"

Rias' eyes widened. "You'd make such a deal just for the sake of _'fun'_?"

"Why not? I'm willing to make a few compromises so that we don't wind up at each other's throats. You want peace, I want peace, the people giving us orders want peace. So, let's make some peace. We don't _have_ to try and kill each other."

There it was. He was offering an olive branch. Whether they took his words at face value or not was up to them. At best, he just found something to keep his interest while he waited for the ex-nun from Italy to arrive in Kuoh. At worst, they threw him out immediately, told him to never return to the academy, and warned him that to do so would be seen as a hostile movement by 「Grigori」. And at _absolute_ worst, Rias and her club started a fight with them right in the middle of campus, a fight that would not go well for them in the slightest. She may have been Lucifer's sister but that wouldn't exempt her from a good ass-kicking.

"...I'll be getting in contact with 「Grigori」 about this, to validate your claims. If you are who you say you are then I suppose you can stay, so long as you remain under my supervision."

Minato smiled. That was fair. He could have done without the supervision bit – he wasn't some child that needed to be minded by handlers – but accepted it without a fight. They'd come around to trusting him eventually and drop the surveillance when they felt comfortable.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't do a background check. Gotta make sure everything's on the up and up after all. Can't hold it against you for wanting to protect your people considering I'd do the same. But, 'till then, we're fine? I can join your secret club?" Rias just nodded, cautious but no longer looking at him as though he was one step away from getting blown into non-existence.

"Great!" he said cheerfully before adopting a contemplative look. "Hmm, lemme see if I can remember how this goes. Been a while since I had to do this..."

He stood up and walked to the center of the room, thankful that his sudden movements didn't set them off. They at least trusted that he had enough common sense to not do anything too stupid like try to attack them (though he still maintained that in such a confrontation he'd win with minimal damage to himself). He really did come in peace. Just a simple guy looking to meet some new people and keep himself entertained.

Minato met their eyes unflinchingly before giving them a small bow, one hand clasped over the other.

"Ayanami Minato, at your service. I'll be in your care, so please treat me well."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Alright, some quick notes. Anne, her look is inspired by the fairy of the same name from Bravely Second. I figured, Issei's got Ddraig, Vali's got Albion, Minato should have a partner in crime over his shoulder. Second, I don't know/remember if Grigori has an official HQ but for the purposes of this story they do and it's located in the Underworld, since that's where the Fallen Angels operate out of primarily. Finally, I know Koneko is a Nekoshou and not just a Nekomata, but I figure since she had her name changed (Shirone to Koneko) and was saved from outright execution because of her sister's crimes the fact that she's one of the only remaining Nekoshou alive would be a secret kept under wraps, meaning other Factions would have no reason to know about it, thus Minato doesn't know at this point because he's going off intel provided by Grigori.**

 **Anyway, that's it. Read, review, read it again, gimme your thoughts, questions, concerns, etc, etc. Will try to maintain something of a schedule with updates but I promise nothing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Minato handed out another flyer, a small smile on his face that only widened when the high school girl's face lit up. He refrained from chuckling as he watched her walk away with a skip in her step before taking another flyer off the stack Rias had given him and holding it out for anyone that was interested.

"This sucks and it isn't fair," Issei bemoaned, and Minato couldn't hold back his laughter now. The freshly reincarnated devil, only about a week or so into his new life, was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall of the convenience store they were, for lack of a better word for it, advertising outside of. He glared up at Minato in clear irritation as yet another passerby took a leaflet from his outstretched hand. "Why are you so good at this? Matter of fact, what are you doing here to begin with? You're not even a devil!"

"I dunno, I guess I'm just approachable? But this is kinda fun, don't you think?" Issei looked at him incredulously. Fun? Passing out flyers in the middle of the day with the sun's harsh and unforgiving rays beating down upon them was _fun?_ Was he on something? Nothing about this was even remotely enjoyable, especially not the fact that his own stack had barely shrunk in the past half hour. "Experiencing how the other side lives, working together with my fellow club members, it's a nice feeling. I like it."

"...You're weird. Seriously weird, dude."

Minato wasn't really too surprised that Issei didn't get it. What was the saying? _'Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have entirely different values'_? He may not have seen war but he _had_ seen hell. He had walked onto battlefields littered with the corpses of both enemy and ally alike, some of which were so badly mangled that he couldn't even identify them. Heard the agonized screams of comrades writhing in the dirt as they awaited medical attention, begging to either be saved or to be put out of their misery, anything to just make the pain stop. Felt his nostrils burn and his eyes water as the stench of death assaulted his senses until he had to excuse himself to empty the contents of his stomach. That was why minor things like this made him smile. It meant that there was peace, at least for a little while longer.

Putting such grim thoughts out of his mind, the white-haired teen just shrugged, even when yet another stranger took his leaflet and Issei huffed in frustration. He wasn't weird, he was just enjoying himself. Sure, the task of handing out leaflets wasn't particularly _interesting_ but that didn't mean it was boring either _._ It was a valuable learning experience, to go through a 「Low-Class」 devil's life for himself and see what it was like. And sure, maybe it had to do with the fact that he was just the _tiniest_ bit sheltered when growing up, but it wasn't as if anybody else needed to know that.

Besides, it kicked the crap out of what his usual assignments and responsibilities were. Lessons about a wide variety of subjects related to the 「Underworld」 and 「Heaven」, looking over paperwork to pass off to Azazel (who would then pass it to Shemhazai, because he was too busy working on one of his 「Artificial Sacred Gear」 projects to be bothered reading most of what he signed off on), hunting down dangerous beasts and monsters that either posed a serious threat to their organization or were rampaging about and were coming too close to revealing their world to humans, and other miscellaneous tasks that involved putting his life in harm's way. Compared to all of that, handing out flyers was a nice break.

If someone had told him a week ago that he would not only enjoy this sort of menial labor but actually volunteer to do it he would have laughed in their face. But, like he had said, it was an enjoyable time so far. Issei, despite his various complaints from the sun draining him of energy to the lack of progress he was making, was pretty fun to hang out with too. Not a bad guy, once you got to know him. Complete and utter pervert with a libido the size of Japan itself, no doubt, but not a bad guy.

He had never really done the whole "hanging out" thing with people his own age considering Vali wasn't the most sociable person in the world, Lavinia was constantly busy with 「Slash/Dog」work, and both were a few years older than him regardless. It wasn't as if he was socially inept or anything, he knew _how_ to talk to people (and, arguably more importantly in his line of work, how to get them to do what he wanted), he was just lacking in experience when it came to more personal interactions with them (that didn't involve him mocking them endlessly).

The fact that quite a few of the Fallen Angels back at headquarters looked upon him unfavorably, even calling him such things like 「Azazel's Personal Guard Dog」 when they thought he was out of earshot, hadn't helped matters. Hard to get experience talking to people casually when the ones you're talking to seem to hate the fact that you even dared to draw breath in their presence.

"I can't take being called weird seriously if you're the one doing it."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?!"

Minato chuckled as Issei bristled at his remark. "Nothing, nothing. You should get back to work though. Rias isn't going to be happy if she finds out you haven't finished even one stack." Issei opened his mouth to speak. "And no, I'm not handing out yours again. I did it last time because I felt bad and didn't want you to get in trouble. I'm not gonna be around to bail you out all the time, ya know."

Issei sucked his teeth as he stood, dusting the seat of his uniform pants off. "You suck. I just wanted my harem, not to be working all the time after school," he mumbled sullenly, grabbing a handful of flyers off the pile.

"Well, think of this work as stamina training then. How can you hope to satisfy your future harem if a little job like this leaves you exhausted?" Minato asked, baiting the brown-haired boy. If he wasn't driven by competing with him to see who could hand out more, and faster, then maybe a carrot on a stick approach would be better suited for this? He just had to turn this boring assignment into something Issei believed would help him once he accomplished his end goal.

Issei froze. "You're right," he whispered to himself before a fire filled his eyes as he stared at his partner on the job, a determined smile making its way onto his face. "You're right! If I can do this then it's just another step towards becoming a 「Harem King」 and being able to do all sorts of perverted things with my servants! Stamina training so I can go all night without passing out! I won't be finished until I've put them in every position known to man! I'll even make up new ones if I have to! I'll finally be able to throw out my porno magazines!"

"Uh, Issei?"

"Wait, no, I can't do that. Those still hold a lot of meaning to me. Besides, porn and having a harem are two separate things. I can't just get rid of it all, that's not right. Having porn and having sex, they're definitely two completely different things entirely."

"Issei."

"But what am I supposed to do about those videotapes under my bed? Do I just give them back to Motohama? I haven't even finished watching them all..."

"ISSEI!"

The devil finally snapped out of his monologue by the other boy's shout. "What?! What is it?!"

"I'm..." Minato struggled to find the right word for a moment, " _happy_ for you and all, now that you're planning out your entire future but can you not do it now? Or here? In public, where other people can see and hear you?"

Issei looked around. Sure enough, people were stopping what they were doing to look at the pair. Some in concern, quite a few women glaring at him, and he was pretty sure he heard some people whispering and asking if the two of them were street performers. There were even people snapping pictures of the two on their phones, something that caused the human next to him to facepalm.

"Oh."

Minato just shook his head in mirth, laughing as he watched the boy's gaze drop to the ground. So even Hyoudou Issei, unrepentant pervert and future 「Harem King」, could feel embarrassment on some level after all. All it took was mass public embarrassment. Good to know. Shame that the devil had unintentionally dragged him along down for the ride too.

' _Rias is going to have so much trouble dealing with this one.'_

* * *

Ayanami Minato was an odd one.

That was the first impression Rias Gremory had come to regarding the newest member of her club.

From all of her reports, he should have been a normal human. She had detected a minor _something_ upon his arrival at Kuoh Academy but wrote it off as a 「Sacred Gear」 that likely wouldn't be of much use to her if and when it came time to deal with her "fiancee". So, putting the red-eyed boy to the side, she had focused her efforts on recruiting Hyoudou Issei, someone who she felt a much larger reaction to recently and would be easier to maintain due to his more perverse nature.

This proved to be...well, not her undoing, as things went more or less how she had wanted, it just took a minor detour. First, he had invited himself to her recruitment meeting for Issei by badgering Yuuto until he felt he had no choice but to accept to avoid making a scene. Then, intentionally or otherwise, made her look foolish by claiming to be a 「ESPer」 – She knew there would come a day where she would regret watching Haruhi. Was it not punishment enough that she sat through the entire Endless Eight? –, before almost stopping the boy from accepting her offer and, oddly enough, stepping aside without another complaint when Issei voiced his earnest intention to forfeit his humanity despite knowing what was at stake. And then came the final reveal, that he was affiliated with 「Grigori」, the fallen angel organization.

Truth be told, she had been tempted to throw him out then and there. To appear before her in such a way, with no warning whatsoever, she'd be lying if it said it hadn't shaken her just a little. Rias had been sure no hostile elements had infiltrated the school. Her father, as well as Sona's, had rigorously poured over the backgrounds of any and all applicants that applied to Kuoh Academy to make sure such a thing didn't happen. When she had asked Minato how he had snuck in, after verifying that he was telling the truth, he gave her nothing more than a wink before telling her it was a secret.

She had contacted 「Grigori」 almost immediately after he left her club room, eager to discover just who and what he was exactly, as well as to divine his true purpose in her territory. Much to her surprise, when she brought up his name she was transferred from a rather tired-sounding secretary, who sounded as though they wished to be doing anything other than answering calls, to Shemhazai, one of the leaders of the fallen angels. He informed her in no uncertain terms that everything Minato had said was true; he was there to monitor the group of fallen angels watching Hyoudou Issei to ensure his 「Sacred Gear」 didn't go out of control, he had permission to directly come into contact with the boy himself if he felt it was necessary, he had been enrolled in Kuoh Academy through all the proper channels, and he was undoubtedly one hundred percent human.

Rias still could have denied him entry to the club, under the pretense of having intruded upon her induction of Issei but it was as he said on the night she allowed him to join. If she believed him to be an enemy, something that was looking less and less likely by the day, then she needed to keep him under surveillance. She couldn't burden Sona with this, not when her friend was similarly fending off engagement proposals herself in her own way while dealing with the responsibilities of being 「Student Council President」. So, left with no other alternative and not wanting to have her 「Peerage」 conduct yet another surveillance mission on a member of the student body, though still having her Familiar trail him when possible to make sure he didn't cause trouble, Ayanami Minato became one of the newest members of the 「Occult Research Club」.

He was most certainly different than the whispers she had heard in the school's hallways. The other students painted him as though he were a second Yuuto; polite, hardworking, caring, these were just a few of the traits people ascribed to both her 「Knight」 as well as the white-haired teen. The 「Prince of the Harbor」, a title referencing his given name. And, in all fairness, the latter was all of those things and more. When he _wanted_ to be.

Polite, but always ready with some sort of joke or quip to poke fun at someone or a situation. Hardworking, but only when he felt the work was interesting or would provide some form of entertainment, otherwise she would commonly find him sprawled out on the couch across from Koneko, a book or magazine over his face as he slept. Caring, but hid it under a veneer of sarcastic wit and a sharp tongue, as though he wanted people to think he was more interested in deriving entertainment from them rather than their well-being. And he seemed to have a bit of a lecherous side to him as well considering she had, several times now, caught him speaking to her new 「Pawn」 about the boy's more lewd interests and hobbies, often times throwing in suggestions and advice on how he should best go about obtaining his harem. And that wasn't even mentioning the numerous passes he made at both her and Akeno, though she could tell they were mostly made in jest (or as a response to Akeno's own teasings).

Rias knew enough to not place much, if any, stock in the usual school rumors and that people were far more multifaceted than given credit for, but the difference between what students believed Minato to be and what he actually was caught her off guard. The boy was a walking contradiction, carrying all of the descriptors given to him while simultaneously flying in the face of them all and being their exact opposite.

And then there was the matter of his 「Sacred Gear」, the one he admitted to having and being aware of when first barging in. He had said little more on the subject since, only that he had one, that it was, in his own exact words, "super ridiculous strong", and that while he had no trouble informing her of its existence he was under strict orders to not use it openly or brazenly, nor could he disclose its name or ability. Orders that even he wouldn't break, despite the fact that he had blown his "secret" mission by revealing himself to her solely for his own amusement and entertainment.

Yes, Ayanami Minato was most definitely odd in all senses of the word. As she watched him stride into the room, a smile on his face, with a grumbling and haggard Issei in tow, she couldn't help but want to unravel the mystery that he presented. So, as long as he kept up his end of the deal they made, she would allow him to stay within the club. And hopefully, possibly, lead him away from 「Grigori」 and into her 「Peerage」 if the opportunity presented itself and his 「Sacred Gear」 was as powerful as he boasted.

What? She was a devil. It was in her nature to be greedy.

He was even helping Issei get used to his new life and responsibilities, something she was grateful for as she didn't have much time to do it herself. The dreaded deadline of her marriage to the arrogant Phenex drew nearer and nearer and she constantly found herself searching for any sort of countermeasure to his seemingly endless regeneration. She had yet to find one, only information that she already knew such as draining a Phenex's demonic power would prevent them from healing. If she was capable of doing that then she would have done it already!

Thoughts of her pompous ass of a would-be fiancee aside, Minato wasn't such bad company. He frequently hung around the club room after school had ended and, with little else to do, the two, or three if Akeno was in the room as well, would engage in light conversation. Nothing particularly major or important, just small things about their respective day or the next assignment she had for him. Akeno was gradually warming up to him as well, despite working for the same organization as her father, a rather touchy subject with her and one the redhead wouldn't speak of out of respect for Akeno's feelings and wishes to simply leave it be. Even Rias herself wasn't immune to his odd charms, finding his laid-back and easygoing persona to be easy to speak to and get along with.

' _When he isn't trying to flirt with me, at least,'_ she thought with a small chuckle.

* * *

Issei threw himself onto the empty couch, face-planting into the seat cushion. "I never want to see another flyer in my entire life," he said, his voice muffled by the pillow. "This is hell. No, this is worse than hell. Hell is empty and all the devils are here."

"I take it things went well? No problems to report?" Rias asked, a delicate eyebrow raised in questioning at the mumblings of her 「Pawn」.

"Other than the fact that you may find both of our pictures on the internet now with the label "insanely handsome young man deals with incredibly loud and perverted idiot", nope, not a one. All three hundred," Issei exaggeratedly groaned and cried when Minato said the number, making his smile widen, "flyers were passed out successfully. I think we can handle more on our next run. Maybe another hundred or two?"

Issei screamed something incoherent before leaping to his feet, pointing at Minato in a fury. Or at least what he assumed was fury, considering the finger he was pointing at him with was trembling. "No! No, no, no! No more!" Issei whirled on Rias, a pleading expression on his face now, hands clasped in front of him as though he was praying. "Buchou, I'm begging you, don't send me back out there with even more flyers! Or at least don't send me back out there with _him!_ "

"Hey, you know, words can hurt." Minato turned to Akeno, who was giggling at the display. "You're impartial here, am I that bad?" he asked with a small frown.

The girl smiled kindly before patting him on the head, a slightly difficult task as he stood several inches taller than her. "You're fine, Ayanami-kun. Issei-kun just doesn't share your level of enthusiasm for this kind of job."

Minato smiled internally at her response. Akeno had been, while not particularly cold, rather distant after he revealed his affiliations. He was pretty sure it was only his white lie of being a "low-level" employee of 「Grigori」 – something he would have to clear up later with all of them once they were more comfortable around him, lest it blow up in his face – and thus not in contact with her father in any direct way that spared him outright avoidance from the girl. A few conversations here, some jokes there, and he felt safe in saying that while they weren't the best of friends they were at least acquaintances, which was a good step up from being literal strangers.

"Geez, you're still with the "Ayanami-kun" stuff? Mi-na-to," he enunciated with a mock pout. "You're gonna break my poor little heart if you call everybody else by their first name except me," Minato teased, making the girl laugh once more.

"And that would be such a shame, wouldn't it? Sorry, _Minato._ " The boy suppressed the urge to shudder. That breathy, sultry way she said his name made shivers run up and down his spine. He knew she was just messing with him, pushing his buttons to get a reaction as he had learned she was prone to do – a reaction he would deny her at every turn, much to her chagrin –, but did she have to be so damn _good_ at it?

When he first joined the group he hadn't been sure what to expect from Akeno. Would she be like her father, all stern and business-like up front but kind and caring underneath? Just a normal high school girl? Something different entirely? He had no clue, other than the image she presented to the rest of the school outside of the club room he had nothing to go off of. He thought he'd come in, jokingly flirt, tease her a little to see her cheeks take on a burning red color and that would be that, he'd sink into his secret role of keeping her safe while he was in Kuoh. He did _not_ think she'd be able to play the game as well as he did if not better, with some of the things she said and just the _way_ she said them leaving him hot under the collar.

At this point, he was pretty sure it was more of a competition than anything else at this point. A question of who could get the other to break first. It sure as hell wouldn't be him. He broke for no one! No one, absolutely no one, was going to make him look like some inexperienced brat, all flushed and stuttering, nervously trying to force out a reply. Oh no, not him. He'd die before he turned into a sap like that.

"Well, if you're _really_ sorry," Minato leaned forward, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his hair as he whispered to Akeno in the same tone she used on him, "then how's about you and me-" Minato stopped as he felt someone's eyes on him. Well, several someones, but only one pair in particular felt like they were glaring daggers at him.

He turned his head to the side just the tiniest bit and caught a glimpse of Issei's scowl, something that made him want to bust out laughing. At least he was getting a reaction from _someone_ , even if it wasn't the person he was actually aiming for. "Hello. Can I help you?" he asked, using his normal voice now.

"No. No, you cannot. Ever. I hate you. Die, you prince bastard."

"Your words cut deep, my friend."

"We're not friends. Die."

"You said that already."

"...Die twice then? Just explode already."

"If you two are done," Rias interrupted, drawing all eyes to her, "I have your next assignment, Issei." The pervert looked on the verge of tears as he prepared himself for another evening – the sun having long since set by the time he and Minato returned to campus – of standing on street corners with his hand out like an idiot. "You've done well so far so I'll take you off of handing out leaflets for the time being."

"Thank God!" No sooner did those words leave Issei's lips did he let out a cry of pain, collapsing to the ground in a heap. His head was in his hands and his eyes shut tight, trying to block out the agony through force of will.

"Did you forget that happens or are you just some sort of masochist?" Minato asked, noting that Akeno's eyes took on a very worrying shine when he said that last word. _'Don't tell me she's a-'_

"I'm not an M, I just forgot. It's hard to just cut an entire word out of your vocabulary," Issei groaned, picking himself off the floor. He shook his head to get rid of the lingering feelings of shock before looking to Rias again, who was quietly watching everything play out. She had, slowly but surely, gotten used to things like this over the past several days. Funnily enough, such things only became more common after Minato had joined them. "Sorry, Buchou. You were saying?"

"Right. Since Koneko has two reservations booked tonight and it would be difficult to fulfill them both back-to-back, I'll be assigning you one of them."

"Thanks for helping me out," a quiet voice said. Minato looked at the couch opposite of the one Issei had thrown himself on earlier. There sat Koneko, stoic as ever, snacking on a popsicle, looking completely unaffected by the various scenes that had gone on before her eyes. She had been so quiet since their entrance that he almost hadn't noticed she was even in the room. The same went for Kiba, who was watching everything unfold off to the side, leaning against the wall with his ever-present smile.

"This will be your first contract, so be on your best behavior, Issei."

"R-Right!" Issei gave a salute. "I won't let you down, Buchou!"

Rias just smiled before nodding to Akeno, who finally took her hand off of Minato's head – much to his displeasure, as he was rather enjoying his head pats from the busty girl – and walked to the center of the room to prepare the magic circle. Minato looked on with slight interest as a red glow began to emanate from it. He had seen magic circles used in the past but those were of the fallen angel variety. He wasn't aware of any differences the ones used by devils might have had, though he had the vague suspicion that Shemhazai had told him in the past and he just forgot about it.

He watched as Issei strode confidently to the center of the circle as Akeno joined himself and the rest of the club in watching. Issei's first-ever teleportation spell. Minato wondered if he should take out his phone and snap a picture, for posterity's sake. It wasn't every day you got to see a fresh reincarnated devil's first jump.

"Knock 'em dead, kid," Minato cheered, earning a thumbs up from the brown-haired devil. He had messed with him enough today, it'd just be mean if he didn't give him some encouragement at this point. He wasn't out to bully the poor guy, just motivate him to do better. He'd need all the help he could get before Vali came knocking.

The circle glowed brightly and a flash of light overtook the room.

' _And there he goes, off to disappoint the poor bastard who got him instead of Koneko.'_

Except, Issei didn't go anywhere. When the flash died down, he was still there, eyes closed, confident grin on his face, standing perfectly still as though he were a statue. He hadn't moved so much as an inch. Nothing had changed other than the fact that the magic circle had deactivated itself after the (clearly failed) teleportation attempt.

"Ara ara."

Minato felt himself start to shake. No way. There was no freaking way this was happening. There were very few reasons why a teleportation spell using a magic circle would fail. The first being that something directly interfered and canceled it out, which could potentially have incredibly disastrous results like only teleporting part of someone's body. And not in a cutesy "haha he's half here and half there" sort of way, in a "he's literally split into two (or more) pieces and his guts are spilling onto the floor, somebody get a mop and bucket" horrific and nightmarish sort of way.

The second reason, that one was actually funny. It was-

"I don't get it. Why am I still here?" Issei asked, clearly befuddled. Had the spell not worked for some reason?

"Issei." Rias began with a small sigh. Time for Plan B then. "It seems you can't use the magic circle. You'll have to go to the client's location on a bicycle."

Minato's trembling got worse. A bike. A goddamn bike. A devil riding to meet his clients on a fucking _bicycle._ A freaking wish-granting delivery system by way of bike courier. He was going to die. This was it, he was seriously going to explode. Issei would get his wish after all because this was actually killing him at this point.

"E-Eh?! Why? Did I do it wrong?"

"You didn't do anything _wrong_ , perse. It's just that, to use the magic circle requires a certain amount of demonic power. Typically, even a child has enough to teleport at least once. It's one of the first things we're taught how to do."

"Then that means…"

"Your demonic power, it's less than a child's. So incredibly low that the magic circle can't respond to it. Now, hurry. The bicycle should be out front, by the staircase. Don't make the client wait too long."

"You have to be joking! What kind of devil rides a bike?!"

Koneko soundlessly pointed at Issei and Minato finally broke down upon witnessing that, collapsing to the ground and clutching his sides as he proceeded to almost laugh himself to death. He could feel the tears running down his face at this point, even as Issei cursed him out for finding hilarity in his predicament. Joining the club had been worth it just for this single moment alone.

His only regret was that he hadn't taken that photo.

* * *

Minato let out a low whistle. So this was the 「Boosted Gear」, huh? It was very...spiky. Lots of jagged edges that looked pretty painful if your skin got caught on one of them after catching a punch from it with your face. He had seen a few pictures of it in Azazel's textbooks on 「Sacred Gears」 (all of which were written by the man himself) but none of them did the gauntlet any justice. It just exuded a sort of aura that drew him in while simultaneously putting him on edge. 「Divine Dividing」 had the same effect on him as well, whenever Vali brought it out during their spars.

"So you were attacked by a fallen angel and that led to you awakening your 「Sacred Gear」?" Rias asked, a serious expression on her face. When Issei only nodded, too enamored with his new toy to give a proper response, Rias looked to Minato with narrowed eyes. "I see."

The human tried to not flinch under her smoldering glare, only barely holding out when he felt Akeno's stare on his back join it. He already knew the thoughts running through both of their minds, and likely the rest of the ORC as well.

 _He's a traitor. Spy. Liar._ _Deceiver._

Except, he _wasn't._ Minato had told (ordered) Raynare to not approach the 「Sekiryuutei」 again. The only problem was that description of the fallen that Issei gave matched _Kalawarner_ , and not Raynare, to a T. Right down to the long blue hair and, as the brown-haired boy put it, "stonking huge tits bigger than my freaking head", a statement the resulted in Koneko telling him to "go die already", which almost brought the brunette to tears.

Koneko was pretty damn ruthless when she wanted to be, Minato had learned over these past few days. She also seemed to have a very low tolerance for perverts. It was why whenever he gave Issei advice on how to actually get his harem, he did it when the small girl was out of the room.

Putting those amusing thoughts to the side, Minato could only hope Rias would give him the opportunity to explain himself _before_ throwing his ass out onto the street and telling him to never show his face at Kuoh Academy again if he wanted to live. He obviously wouldn't heed such a warning and return the next day, possibly bearing gifts if necessary – _'Girls like chocolate, right?'_ – until she would hear his side of the story. This was all just the result of a lack of communication between himself and his stupid, idiotic, can't-goddamn-follow-directions subordinates.

"Issei." The devil finally took his eyes off of 「Sacred Gear」 to look at Rias. "Be careful on your way home. It's unlikely that you'll encounter any other fallen angels now that they're aware of the fact that you're a devil serving my household," the redhead shot Minato another pointed look before continuing, "but don't take any unnecessary risks. Head straight home, okay?"

The boy laughed nervously, clearly uncomfortable with the atmosphere in the room. He was dense but he was by no means an idiot. Rias was clearly displeased with Minato over something and he didn't want to be caught in whatever argument was about to happen. "R-Right. I'll be going then." He gave a small nod to everyone before walking out, the door closing quietly behind him. The second it shut was when Minato launched into full damage control.

"Okay, listen, there's an explanation for this."

"I would certainly hope so," Rias said calmly. Minato could feel power welling up within her, the same as the night he officially joined. He had thoroughly pissed her off this time, he could tell as much (and for an understandable reason, even if it wasn't really his fault). "You said you would prevent them from taking any further action. My 「Pawn」 could have **died** because of your subordinates, the ones you claimed to have ordered to stand down. What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked, her voice so cold it could have given him chills.

"When I gave the order to lay low and not pursue him, I gave it to my second-in-command." Calling Raynare such a thing made his tongue burn. Second-in-command? Please. She'd be lucky if he even listened to her when she spoke. Arrogant, worthless, brain-dead fallen angel. "I _assumed_ she was smart enough to inform the others. Clearly, I shouldn't have."

He bowed, feeling that familiar burning sensation from his tongue now place itself firmly upon his pride. Because of Kalawarner's foolhardy attack, he was being forced to apologize in her place. "I'm sorry," Minato forced out, putting his pride to the side. This wasn't the time for being conceited. He had screwed up and, because of that, Issei had been put in harm's way. He was responsible for the fallen angel quartet and, as such, their actions were his actions. That was the burden one took on when they became the leader of anything.

Moments ticked by in uncomfortable silence as Minato stayed staring at the floor. Would she take his words for what they were, a genuine expression of remorse and regret? Or would she assume this was just some ploy to get back into her good graces after a failed assassination attempt? He felt that he knew her well enough that it would be the former but this wasn't just some minor screw-up he made. The boy very well could have died, and it would have been because of his negligence by not ordering _all_ of the fallen angels to leave him alone.

"...Raise your head, Minato." He breathed a small sigh of relief before allowing his back to straighten. When he looked at Rias the stern expression on her face had softened. "Because nothing happened, I'll overlook this. Don't let it happen again."

The white-haired human nodded, understanding the unspoken words underneath. If this situation were to occur once more then she would take action, either against him personally or against the group he was minding. The latter was honestly appealing to him at this point. If Rias wanted to blast all of the pain in the ass crows until there was nothing left but feathers with which to fill a pillowcase then that was fine. Less trouble for him and it would most assuredly prevent any future incidents.

Though, there was one thing that still poked away at him. Before he could think about how such a question would sound, and whether or not it would betray any feelings of possible guilt or culpability, the words left his mouth.

"You don't think I had anything to do with this, right?"

A small pause before, for the first time since Issei had entered the club room, Rias gave a small smile. "I don't think you're _stupid_ enough to order Issei to be killed while still hanging around the club room or in plain sight, no."

Minato laughed lightly. So that was it. Well, at least she had faith that he wasn't an utter moron. That was good. It meant that there was still trust in their relationship, even if it was a bit dented and banged up because of what had happened. "Good to know, and thanks for the vote of confidence." He sighed. "I'll be going then."

"Leaving so soon?" Akeno asked from behind him, and he could detect the smallest edge of suspicion in her voice. Again, not uncalled for, but it hurt all the same. He was finally making progress with these people, getting them to accept him as one of their own, and in one night Kalawarner had smashed it all to pieces.

"Akeno, that's-"

"No, it's fine. I get that me leaving so suddenly looks pretty bad after what just happened," Minato said, interrupting Rias before she could possibly reprimand her 「Queen」. He put on a smile that he wasn't particularly feeling at the moment. "But if I don't leave now and straight this all out then it only lets them think they can get away with these kinds of things. The boss has to have a firm hand in these kinds of situations, no?" Minato asked Rias rhetorically, the small smile on her face becoming one of understanding as she gave a nod.

He turned to leave, noticing that while Akeno's voice had carried hints of suspicion in her tone the look in her eyes said that she wanted to believe him. The same went for Koneko and Kiba, who had been silent during the exchange between the three but carried the same emotion in their own eyes. They wanted to believe that he wasn't simply some spy sent in to gather information before trying to pick them off one by one.

Minato made it to the door before he remembered something he had planned to bring up but had forgotten up until now. He gazed at Rias from over his shoulder. It wouldn't make up for his negligence but he figured he could at least do her the favor and remove any possible doubts in her mind over the nature of the brunette's new weapon. "You know what his 「Sacred Gear」 is, right? Issei's, I mean."

"Based on its appearance I have a few ideas, two in particular that stand out. But, for some reason, I have the feeling that you already know," she replied.

He smirked. "「Sekiryuutei」," he said simply, enjoying the look of shock on all of their faces when he dropped that bomb. "That kid is this generation's 「Red Welsh」, wielder of the 「Boosted Gear」. I wouldn't have been sent here if it was anything less than a 「Longinus」-tier Gear." His red eyes became serious as the smirk dropped off of his face. "Dragons have the bad habit of attracting troublesome people to them. Keep him safe until he learns how to use his 「Sacred Gear」 and can fend for himself."

With that rather ominous warning, he turned the door handle and walked out. He had some crows to… to...

' _There is no good way to end that sentence. Damn.'_

To hell with it. He was just going to go ream their sorry asses.

* * *

"So when I told _you_ ," Minato began, glaring at Raynare, "to leave the 「Sekiryuutei」 alone, did you think that was only directed towards you? Did you think it didn't apply to _all_ of you?" he finished, his furious eyes raking across the other three. Kalawarner was as naked as the day she was born – Issei hadn't been lying when he said his 「Sacred Gear」 stripped her bare in a burst of green energy, it seemed – and, in any other circumstance, he would have thrown in a few jokes while he took in the sight of her bombshell body. Unfortunately for her, and all of them, he was not in such a good mood.

Nobody responded, even Raynare seemed cowed by the sheer anger radiating off of him. He had stormed into the Church, nearly breaking down the doors when he shoved them open, before calling a meeting, dropping a casual mention that if any of them tried to leave he would kill them right on the spot. Nobody even so much as moved a muscle, all of them remaining in their seats on the pews where he had found them. The Stray Priests that had been brought along with them were still down in the sanctuary area, likely screwing around and occupying their time with something stupid. They were exempt from his fury because they, despite their generally awful personalities and literally heretical natures, had the common sense to not go out and attack a devil in the territory of two of the 「72 Pillars」.

Most of them, at least. Freed was still around (probably). The bastard always seemed to be skulking about, rarely in the Church at the same time as Minato. He wouldn't have been surprised if the psychopath was intentionally avoiding him. A smart move by him, if that was his intention and they weren't just missing each other by coincidence. Minato couldn't stand Freed and the feeling was more than mutual.

"Well? What the fuck are you waiting for? **Speak!** "

"We were-" Kalawarner began, her mind running through whatever excuse possible to give that would spare them the executioner's ax. Minato, while only ever executing traitors that had defected from 「Grigori」, was not known among headquarters for being particularly patient when angered. More than one member of the organization had found themselves beaten into the ground, quite literally, after going too far in insulting the 「Absolute Demise」 girl or the 「Hakuryuukou」 when trying to goad him, thinking they would have the upper hand if he wasn't in a clear state of mind. Such people typically found themselves in the medical facilities soon after.

"Shut the fuck up," he ordered. Yes, he was aware he just told them to speak in their defense. No, he did not care. "I am so pissed right now that I'm legitimately considering calling up Azazel and having you all shipped back to the 「Underworld」." He noted that a look of fear and uncertainty passed between them all. Were they that worried about looking bad in front of their leader? There were limits to how high a person should value their reputation.

"Let me tell you how things are going to go from now until we leave. You're going to stay in this Church. None of you are to leave. I don't give a damn if we run out of food and you all fucking _starve._ When the 「Holy Maiden」 arrives you will be on your absolute best behavior. You **will** treat her with respect. If she tells you to clean her shoes with your goddamn tongues then you four will get on your hands and knees and wipe them down until they goddamn shine."

Mittelt scoffed, turning her head to the side petulantly, very much acting like the child her physical appearance portrayed her as. Minato was having none of it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I boring you? Do you have something to say now? By all means, speak up! Please, tell the rest of the class what's on your mind!"

"Why the hell should we treat that girl with any sort of reverence? She got kicked out of the Church. She's not so damn special," the blonde girl muttered, glaring at the wall. The other three silently agreed with her, though they dared not voice it.

"Let me guess, you think you four are the same, huh? She got kicked out the Church and you all got kicked out of 「Heaven」, therefore you're all on a level playing field, right? Oh, except you're higher up because you're the _vaunted_ fallen angels, made by God Himself. Right? _Right?_ "

Nobody moved to respond, assuming it would only anger him further. They were right about that, but it didn't stop him from ranting on.

"Here's the difference between you lot and her; you four are all pieces of shit." Now they all glared at him, making him smirk in contempt. "Don't like it? Tough. You all dropped out of 「Heaven」 like flies because you couldn't control yourselves. Because you wanted to _fuck_ and _kill_ your way through life while looking down on other races as inferior. You strayed from what God told you to do and you know what? On some level, I can respect you all for that." Their glares became looks of befuddlement now. Was he _praising_ them for falling from 「Heaven」? For choosing to accept and follow their vices? For choosing to refuse to bow to hairless apes such as himself when God told His beloved children to love humanity just as much as they loved Him?

"It takes some spine to be told what to do by _God_ and say "No, _I'm_ going to decide that for _myself_ ", regardless of the fact that all you idiots ever have on your minds is destruction and hedonism," Minato continued. For as much as he disliked the four, he meant what he said. It's easy to obey, to follow orders, to keep your eyes pointed to the ground and simply do as your told, even if it fills you with disgust. But to disobey even when it would cost you everything that you have, that took a certain quality, a certain _something_ that many lacked.

However, none of that would spare them of his anger, especially as he began to feel it take hold when he thought of the girl that would be arriving soon after being cast out by the Church. They seriously tried to compare themselves to her? What a damn laugh.

"But that girl? Asia Argento, the former 「Holy Maiden」 set to come here? Her crime is that she cared too much to watch someone suffer. She used the 「Sacred Gear」 that God gave her to try and do as much good in the world as possible, even going so far as to heal a devil because she felt that it was the right thing to do."

"But we can't have that now, can we? Not of our good, miracle-performing, 「Holy Maiden」. No, her miracles are only for the Church! Only the Church can decide who is worthy of being saved!" Minato began to rant, feeling fury burn through his veins hotter and hotter. "So she's no longer a 「Holy Maiden」, she can't be, not if she heals devils! No, she's a 「Witch」 now. A heretical 「Witch」 whose presence we must purge ourselves of to be free of sin."

He took a deep breath to calm himself, running a hand through his hair out of frustration. If he didn't calm down he might lose control again, burst into flames, literally, and burn down the entire Church in a fit of anger. When he had first read the intel provided to him on the girl, Asia, he had been infuriated. The Church was screwing something up yet again except, instead of covering their asses after who knows how many years of twisted experiments done on children, now they were exiling a girl only a year or so younger than himself for the crime of healing someone on the verge of death. All because that someone was a devil. It made him sick to his stomach, that they could be so damned cruel.

"The only connection between you _idiots_ and her is that you all made a choice. She chose to do what she felt was right, as did you four. Except her choice wasn't colored by delusions of superiority, a need to spill the blood of others, or animal lusts. She tried to do good out of kindness, and you're all self-serving bastards that wouldn't give a damn if I decided to kill one of you right now to serve as an example, so long as I promised that the rest of the group wouldn't be next on the chopping block."

Minato sighed, suddenly feeling exhaustion catch up to him. Not even old enough to legally drink and he was already feeling too old to deal with this kind of crap. Having to mind people was draining, both mentally and physically. The next time he spoke to Azazel he'd have to let the man know that he wouldn't be taking any assignments that placed him in a leadership role for a while. "When the girl arrives, you will treat her with respect and civility until I put in the call to Azazel and we can ditch this rundown shack," he said, eyeing the crumbling walls of the Church with distaste. "Tell the priests downstairs that as well. And if any of you, for **any** reason, goes near a devil again while we're here, I'll execute you myself."

The four said nothing in response, even as he walked past them and out the door, into the cold night air.

No more words needed to be exchanged between the two groups.

The line in the sand had been drawn.

 _Obey or die._

* * *

Who was he to threaten them in such a manner? The boy's ego had gotten far too large for their liking, of that all four of the fallen angels could agree. All of them had lived his entire lifespan up to that point several times over, yet here was this kid, this _brat_ , throwing his weight around simply because Azazel allowed him to. A worthless human ordering around higher beings such as themselves, how disgusting. No matter. He would learn his place soon enough.

Regardless of any threats he made, the quartet wouldn't allow their plan to be disrupted. They had come too far now to allow some upstart human boy to interfere. Once 「Twilight Healing」 was in their grasp, his threats wouldn't amount to anything. Especially if they could find a way to get the Hyoudou's 「Boosted Gear」 as well from out under the Gremory girl's control. A rare「Sacred Gear」 that would allow them to heal any type of injury, a boon ever since they lost God's divine grace and protection, combined with the power of a 「Longinus」 that had the power to slay even their Almighty Father if given enough time. So long as they could obtain both, the fallen angel race would be untouchable. _They_ would be untouchable.

So, for now, the four of them would bide their time. They would do as he ordered and not leave the Church unless it directly correlated with their plans. Lure him into a false sense of security by allowing him to believe they had been thoroughly cowed and made docile. And then, once his guard was down, they would snatch everything away and leave him for dead, framing the devils for his murder as well as the deaths of the 「Holy Maiden」 and the 「Sekiryuutei」.

Success was too close for them to fail now.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And we're done with another one. The plot's still moving along steadily, gradually moving towards the climax of the first arc. Should be just a couple more chapters now, depending on how I decide to pace things out. Review as always and let me know what you think.**


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